Digital technology, for an appealing and competitive area

Digital services are part of our daily lives. They are vital to the functions of businesses and public services, and contribute to the competitiveness of the area. Access to a high speed or very high speed internet is today an essential service for many companies in order for them to remain competitive, appealing and reactive.

Conscious that such access is a major challenge to planning and economic development; Quimper Bretagne Occidentale has quickly identified the area's broadband deficiencies and has decided to invest.

In 2006 the Hermineo project was launched, a public network that aims to eliminate the digital divide within Quimper Bretagne Occidentale by providing a broadband service throughout.

Quimper Bretagne Occidentale entrusted the creation and operation of the Hermineo network to Axione as part of a 15 year public service contract. To manage the network, the company created Quimper Communauté Télécom, based at Creac’h Gwen.

The area's important issues are also well understood at government levels. This improves the situation for rural areas (with little or no access to broadband), white and grey areas, and supports investments from private urban operators.

Responding to an appeal by the State for submissions of intent to invest, Orange has announced its aim to provide fibre optic cables to homes in all major French cities by 2020, including the 8 municipalities of the Quimper Bretagne Occidentale network.

The local authority is developing an accompanying agreement so that this expansion can be achieved in an intelligent manner.

The communes of Quimper Bretagne Occidentale therefore rely on two major players to ensure fair distribution, very high speeds and the elimination of the area's digital divide.

• Quimper Bretagne Occidentale Telecom with the Hermineo network,
• Orange with its project for fibre optic subscriptions.

Hermineo network for public initiative: Broadband for all

The Hermineo networks aims to provide 100% of households in Quimper Bretagne Occidentale’s 8 communes, including those ineligible for broadband, with high and very high speed digital connections, as well as very high speed fibre optics for those companies that express an interest.

What is the additional value of public action?

• To enable everyone to access digital services throughout the area.
• Creating competition between the networks resulting in a significant decrease in business rates.

The aims of Hermineo?

• Coverage of 100% of the territory of the conglomeration, eradicating the digital divide

• Competitiveness by bringing advanced telecommunications companies to the area in order to promote its economic appeal.
• Competition resulting from a network that is open to all telecommunication operators, including local operators.

This network permits:

• companies to benefit from attractive and innovative digital services
• the provision of high speed connections to the entire population
• the development of new services for citizens, notably very high speed equipment for educational institutions and the major public sites for which Quimper Bretagne Occidentale is responsible

Hermineo in numbers:

• 130 km of fibre optic cable
• 11 unbundled NRA (telephone exchanges)
• 3 200 households linked to Hermineo for broadband access
• 170 households with high speed connections via WiMax and satellite
• 100 % of the activity zones are served by Hermineo
• 450 business clients in the Hermineo network

Contact : Quimper Communauté Telecom

« Le Forum », 2 Rue Félix Le Dantec, 29000 Quimper.

Tel. 02 98 64 48 99

The Orange fibre optic expansion

Orange has made a commitment to the government and local communities to create a private network providing all of the major towns, including Quimper Bretagne Occidentale, with fibre optics by 2020.

Quimper Bretagne Occidentale began a process of dialogue and cooperation with Orange, in order to provide priority expansion of their new high speed fibre-optic network to areas with poor service.

Who is connectable?

Orange began the fibre optic expansion at the beginning of 2014. Given the magnitude of this task, work will continue gradually until 2020

To find which areas are covered by fibre optic please connect to the web site provided by Orange

http://reseaux.orange.fr/couverture-fibre and consult the city map of FTTH coverage

What is Fibre Optic for?

Fibre optic is glass wire surrounded by a sheath that allows light to circulate. This technology is particularly suited for the transfer of digital data. ADSL (broadband via a copper network) has allowed many households access to better technology, including "triple offers" (internet, telephone, TV).

The higher performance fibre changes the life of Internet users, thanks to far higher speeds than those of ADSL broadband:

• downloading of photos, videos and other data is almost instantaneous,
• access to services such as HD television
• connection to the internet via several devices at the same time with a single subscription: telephones, mobiles, tablets, computers....

With fibre weak signals are never an issue