B2B operators can now access Bitstream DSL and Ethernet First Mile (EFM), with point-to-point fibre coming soon, from KOSC Telecom, which was established in March 2016 as the new French telecoms operator dedicated to supplying wholesale connectivity to B2B operators.
“Our ambition is to become the third biggest fixed-network operator in the French wholesale market and we aim to generate annual revenue of €100m in the next 5 years,” said Antoine Fournier, KOSC Telecom’s CEO.
“There are two reasons why we’ve chosen to be a wholesale-only operator; to avoid any competition with our customers and to be focused on just one thing: connectivity. We think we’ll become our customers’ favourite supplier with our innovative products and competitive prices and because we won’t compete with them like our competitors do.”
Over the past year, KOSC Telecom has been busy transforming its future-proof network and last March it acquired and incorporated Completel and OVH’s networks into its new fast-growing fibre-optic infrastructure, which now has 20,000km of fibre-optic cables stretching across mainland France and connecting more than 180 towns and cities.
To extend its national coverage, KOSC Telecom has also started to connect up to the different subsidised fibre networks. Effectively adding the active connections each region has on offer to KOSC’s own passive connections.
Yann de Prince, chairman of KOSC Telecom, said last spring at the AVICCA conference on subsidised fibre networks: “We’re very much aware that the French telecom market, and businesses in general, need fibre-optic services. Small and medium-sized businesses are very keen to see this market develop which is why we’ve chosen to make substantial investments to cover their needs.”
The 34 million fibre-optic connections in France are divided between rural France’s subsidised fibre networks (14 million connections), and the private investments which cover the more urban areas. KOSC intends to become the wholesale-only operator across this area and the 20 million lines it represents.
KOSC Telecom has also installed ADVA Optical Networking across its DWDM transport network to provide customers with up to 16Tbps of fibre connection. The operator has deployed the MEF Certified 7750 SR Routers from Nokia to take charge of collecting, aggregating, and transporting its Ethernet services with up to 100Gbps connectivity. It has also implemented a Connectivity-as-a-Service (CaaS) model with an extranet platform and API.
