Accelerated French Satellite Broadband Roll Out

Satellite Solutions Worldwide Group plc

("SSW" or the "Company")

French government announces proposed support for accelerated satellite broadband roll out 

French President Emmanuel Macron has recently announced that the government wants to accelerate the roll out of universal high-speed broadband coverage in France, with the existing target of 2022, brought forward to the end of 2020. He stated this cannot be done by fibre alone; "It is impossible to keep the promise of fibre in to all households in France. This promise is untenable technologically and financially." 

Nearly 30 million French homes have fibre broadband, the remaining two million households which cannot be connected economically to the fibre network will have broadband delivered through a combination of satellite, optical fibre and mobile internet. 

President Macron added, "the government will allocate a share of the large investment plan to this priority, where necessary, wherever deficiencies are found, to replace the defaulting operators".

Andrew Walwyn, CEO of SSW, commented, "This statement is particularly significant as, despite many European governments having broadband subsidy schemes, they are often constructed around fibre. President Macron has directly acknowledged that fibre alone cannot viably resolve the problem of universal broadband provision; satellite is a key solution for the large areas of France that do not have adequate broadband coverage.

"We are already one of the largest independent satellite broadband providers in France with c.12,000 customers. We believe the French government's announcement highlights the importance of satellite and other alternative technologies to fibre which should underpin our French business in the coming years." 

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