In this month of January, theARCEP publishes its quarterly reportAnd nPerf awards its Awards for the best fixed internet providers for 2022. Data from one and observations from the other combine: the increase in the speed of fixed Internet connections is reaching record levels. The average speed observed in downlink speeds from nPerf is currently 237 Mb/s, that of uplink speeds is 170 Mb/s, latency times are also low, measured between 20 and 25 ms depending on the operator.
Towards a hyper-connected France
This month, nPerf publishes its annual barometer of fixed connections in mainland France. This study is based on all tests carried out in 2022 by subscribers: almost 5.5 million in total, half from fiber optic links. The panel is therefore gigantic, the data reliable and the conclusion clear: average 24% faster for uplink speeds and even a 27% boost for downlink speeds. It’s unprecedented, it’s stunning, and it’s becoming the norm in more than half of French homes. ARCEP also communicates the figure of 31.9 million high-speed and ultra-high-speed subscriptions on the metropolitan France market on 30 September 2022.
Second big observation: more than half of the tests were done for high-speed connections, which they now represent 65% of subscriptions. This confirms the general trend of 600 to 700,000 new ones very high-speed subscriptions contracted per year, observed by ARCEP. 8 out of 10 subscriptions are in optical fiber, or just over 17 million, of which 3.7 million new users in one year.
Fiber throughput is accelerating
the deployment of the high-speed continuous fiber networkand the number of “end-to-end” fiber connections exceeded 50% last fall. This explains the dramatic increase in average speed observed. Not all operators are created equal, but they are all on a steady 2-digit progression and the gaps are closing in the top quartet.
We’re close to 600Mb/s average downlink speed and just over 400Mb/s for the fastest carrier. They’re all neck-and-neck for latency times between 10 and 13 ms — gamers will appreciate it.
To find out if your city is interested and if fiber is already on hand, the easiest way is to do so view our interactive map and verify your address.
The case of broadband
Not surprisingly, the number of broadband subscriptions decreases each year: 2.5 to 3 million subscriptions on average. It includes xDSL and cable connections, two obsolete technologies.
We cover between 7 and 8 Mb/s for downstream speedand downlink speeds hover around 0.5 or 0.6 Mb/s. Progress is extremely low – I’m not sure users will measure the difference in usage, but it’s no longer the time to invest.
Indeed, the scheduled end of the copper network is announced for 2030 and several dozen French municipalities have already seen their network stop working. Direct consequence: only 20% of the speed tests carried out in 2022 concerned an xDSL connection, according to nPerf.
We hypothesize, however, that the distribution over the territory is not homogeneous, and that copper is still particularly present in sparsely populated areas. with scattered habitats. For this third of the population who have not yet had the opportunity to take the plunge, it will be necessary to wait a few more years to enjoy video conferencing, 4K streaming, multi-screen and other resource-consuming 4K games.