Bouygues’ subsidiary Axione announced that it has secured a contract in the French department of Sarthe, which will enable a faster deployment of FTTP services for local homes and businesses. The company, leading a consortium named Sartel, has committed to bring fibre connectivity to all rural premises in under-served areas by 2022. In return, Sartel will operate the open-access infrastructure under a 30-year concession.
The public initiative network or RIP (Reseaux d'Initiative Publique) will cover 200,000 premises, completing the FTTH coverage of the department alongside the private initiative footprint of 100,000 premises in densely populates areas.
Sartel is a division of Axione Infrastructures, which in turn is owned by Axione and two of its long-standing financial partners, Mirova and Banque des Territoires, part of French state-owned bank CDC (Caisse des Depots).