Auvergne Regional Council - 01.27.2010 - Brussels

1. RegioStars Awards 2010 Bridging the broadband gap in Auvergne: towards a 100% coverage Auvergne Regional Council - 01.27.2010 - Brussels

2. High speed broadband and white areas in Auvergne • A key factor of territorial competitiveness and attractiveness • Auvergne context  Many rural and sparsely populated areas = market failure  digital divide : A public intervention was needed ! • Key points of the project success: • The public-private-partnership (PPP) • The technical solution adopted: NRA/ZO • A close partnership at regional level • A good communication on the project • Results of the project  Citizens can choose their provider  14 000 new lines eligible for DSL and860 km of fiber optics that will be re-used for VHS broadband  35 000 lines benefited from an increase in broadband  99,6% of households get at least a 512 Kb/s offer (85% get 2Mb/s and 30% 20 Mb/s) • Budget: global cost = 38,5 M€ (exclusive of tax) Auvergne Regional Council - 01.27.2010 - Brussels

4. Financial partners: • The French State : 4,8 M€: • Five local actors  The regional Council : 10,6 M €  The 4 departments : 10,6 M € (Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal, Haute-Loire) • EU : 10 M€  no ERDF, no project ! How worked the regional partnership ? A close cooperation throughout the process Different meetings of the steering and technical committees at all steps: • to define the territorial scope • to agree on the PPP and the technological solution proposed by the contractor • to decide the sharing of costs ( 50% paid by the Region / 50% shared between the departments proportionally to the new DSL lines created) The project partnership: a key factor of success Auvergne Regional Council - 01.27.2010 - Brussels

5. The project Communication •  Inform and provide assistance to citizens • A Hotline was created by the Region to inform citizens on the process, agenda, project details, providers available… • A website was also created to inform the population: www.auvergnehautdebit.fr • … and local authorities • The local authorities whose territory was concerned by the project were all informed about the whole process to enable them to inform the population •  Some examples of uses developped with regional partners… • « Social Internet », new Visio-Public devices spread in rural areas to facilitate access to public services, development of digital workspaces in schools • but ALSO… • Many local actors directly benefited from the new DSL lines eligible: farmers, home nurses, touristic units … Auvergne Regional Council - 01.27.2010 - Brussels

6. Next step ! Towards very high speed Broadband • Principles of the future regional Scheme : •  an integrated regional partnership involving: • - the Regional Council - the four departments - the six metropolitan areas •  Favouring territorial cohesion and territorial equalization (between densely populated areas and rural areas) • Single out economical development • 2 main priorities : •  « FTTH » (Fibre To The Homes) for business parks, schools, universities and public sites •  increase in broadbandfor individual and professional use, around business areas concerned with FTTH Auvergne Regional Council - 01.27.2010 - Brussels