MAP: When will my part of rural France get high-speed internet?

France claims to have the widest high-speed internet coverage of any country in Europe. 

Two thirds of French households currently have access to high-speed internet. The government wants to ensure than 80 percent of French households will have access by the end of 2022 and that the entire country is covered by 2025. 

READ MORE Is France's plan for nationwide high-speed internet by 2025 on track?

But many people living in the French countryside have frustratingly slow internet connection. This is because not enough fibre optic cables have been installed in a number of rural areas. 

The installation of fibre optic cables, which can send information at 70 percent the speed of light, is essential for high speed internet - unless you are using 4G (mobile internet supplied through a cellular network). 

Currently, there are significant regional differences in which these fibre optic cables have been installed as the map below demonstrates. 

A map shows how much access different French départements have to fibre optic connection. The darker the green, the faster the internet. Source: Agence Nationale de Cohésion des Territoires

The dark green areas, including Paris, have excellent fibre optic coverage while lighter green areas, mostly scattered around rural areas of the country do not. 

When will I get access to high-speed internet?

Fortunately, there is a useful tool to see when fibre optic cables will be installed near you. 

France's electronic communications regulator, ARCEP, have made an interactive map which allows you to check whether the installation of cable in your area is complete, began in 2021, or the year when it is set to begin.

When using the map, you can should click on the “Modes de vue” box on the right hand side. Then click “Avancé” and select “Vue prévisionnelle des déploiements fibre.”

This is the setting you should select to see when fibre optic cables will be installed in your area. Credit: ARCEP

Once you have done this, there is a box on the top left hand corner of the screen that you can use to search your address. 

On the right hand side of the screen, there is a key which tells you what how the different colours on the map correspond to the planned fibre installation date. 

Don't get too excited if your installation date is imminent though - installation itself typically take 12-18 months, according to ARCEP. 

If you scroll on your computer, you can zoom with great detail on individual communes, although street names are not listed. 

Parts of map which are shaded in light blue or are not shaded at all are areas where data on fibre optic installation is still being compiled or is otherwise nonexistant. 

The map reveals that extensive work is planned over the next couple of years - which will likely come as welcome news to many of you living in the countryside.