France to start shutting down analog telephony in 2023

Orange, formerly France Telecom, will start shutting down the first analog telephone lines in 2023. The telecom provider will no longer accept new customers for analogue fixed telephony from 15 November.

Orange reports to Le Parisien that the equipment for its analog PSTN network is outdated and that it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain spare parts. The move was announced two years ago by the former France Telecom without any publicity.

Since February 1, Orange has been conducting a test in fourteen municipalities in the department of Finistère. Customers in that region who request an analog connection will instead receive an offer for a box for a digital connection. According to a spokesperson, that action would be a success and people would have confidence in the technology. Simplified equipment will be introduced for the elderly so that they would not notice the switch. The state guarantees that all French people have a good fixed connection, but Orange is not obliged to use PSTN for this.

In France, the use of fixed telephony has halved since 2012, but according to Gigaset, the largest provider of fixed telephones, 70 percent of companies, for example, still use the PSTN network. In rural areas in particular, there would be a digital divide. Orange hopes to benefit from the move by offering broadband internet on a large scale.