Orange announces gradual end of traditional fixed telephone network in France

The days of the traditional landline phone are counted. The incumbent Orange (formerly France Telecom) has announced that it will gradually cut the "switched telephone network" (PSTN), support for traditional telephony services, reports The Parisian in its edition of Sunday, August 26th. Concretely, this means that it will necessarily have a box to call from a fixed line in a few years: the devices will eventually not be connected directly to a T socket.
 
As of November 15, Orange will stop marketing subscriptions for the traditional landline. New customers or those who move will therefore necessarily have to opt for an offer with access to an internet. From 2023, the operator will start to cut the RTC, group of communes by group of communes. All fixed users will therefore gradually take a box. In the meantime, Orange promises "simplified equipment for the elderly".
 
The CEO of the French Telecom Federation explains the decision of the operator by "equipment [qui] arrive at the end of life ". The switches, technology installed forty years ago to replace the operators, have become "Obsolete" and Orange is struggling to find spare parts in the event of a breakdown. "The State is the guarantor of this service so that every French person has access to a quality telephone service at a reasonable price.. However, there is no obligation for this service to use PSTN technology, Orange is free to use the technology of its choice ", says Delphine Gény-Stephann, Secretary of State to the Minister of the Economy, Parisian. To date, of the 20 million fixed users, 9.4 million still have a traditional line.

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