The shutdown of the copper network on which ADSL depends continues in France. With the historic dismantling of the network in a major metropolis for the first time on March 31, 2025. On site, subscribers will now have to switch to a fiber connection to connect to internet.
It's historic: a major metropolis becomes the first of its kind in France to permanently separate from ADSL. A planned choice scrupulously for a long time – which results from the deployment of fiber in all homes in the area. Until now, the shutdown of the copper network, also called "switched telephone network", had in fact only concerned small administrative communities.
In total, 162 municipalities have completed the complete migration of internet subscribers to fiber since January 31, 2025. While it may seem impressive, this figure actually translates to date by only 256,700 homes transferred to a very high-speed, low-latency and overall much more stable connection. For the most part, the municipalities that have already shut down their copper network are located in Hauts de France (80).
What is this large metropolis in which ADSL is living its last moments?
With equally numerous (but more scattered) shutdowns across the rest of the country. 4 of which have already taken place in overseas departments (Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana and Reunion). Toulouse, the metropolis in which ADSL will be shut down on March 31, 2025, alone has 818,491* inhabitants, spread across some 464,503* homes (*INSEE figures from 2021).
A real change in dimension for this complex transition, which is accompanied by real technical difficulties. The shutdown of the network in the rest of France's local authorities is expected to continue until 2030. With the disconnection at come from 829 municipalities by the end of January 2026, followed by 2,143 additional municipalities the following year.
The city of Toulouse's decision to disconnect so many lines at once appears to have been prompted by work to bury overhead cables over several years. Cables that were dedicated to both electricity distribution and the historic telephone network. The city's residents now have full access to an optical connection with any ISP (Free, Orange, SFR, Bouygues, etc.).
Those who until recently still received internet via ADSL were able to migrate to a more efficient connection free of charge. This is good news, because from tomorrow, copper wire pairs will definitively enter the history of the pink city.
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