Free strikes co-financing deal with Orange for FTTH

French ISP Free has struck a co-financing deal with France Telecom/Orange over the deployment of fibre-to-the-home networks in less densely-populated zones.

Under the agreement, Free will only need to invest in FTTH lines necessary to serve its own subscribers, as against the mutuality agreement for more densely populated zones, where each operator deploys a network up to the building, delivering all the lines necessary for that building.