Capex of Orange increased 22.8 percent to 3,845 million euros in the first half of 2021, driven by investments in fiber and in Africa & Middle East.
Orange has made significant investments in networks, particularly in fiber in France and Africa.
Orange Capex rose 33.2 percent in Q2 2021 after a slowdown in investments in Q2 2020.
Orange has close to 1 million 5G customers with 5G offers available in six countries. The telecom operator did not reveal its specific investment in 5G network.
Orange had 51.8 million households with fiber connectivity worldwide at 30 June 2021 (up 22.4 percent year on year). The number of connectable households in France was up 35.5 percent at 26.1 million, the telecom operator said.
Orange made investments of nearly 13 billion euros in FTTH in Europe over the last ten years. “Our lead in fiber allows us to confirm our commitment to reducing Capex from 2022 and achieving Capex to sale ratio of around 15 percent by the end of 2023,” Orange said.
Orange has 10.3 million fiber (FTTH) customers out of 51.8 million connectable households. The FTTH client base rose 28 percent year on year, driven in particular by France and Poland.
Orange, a pioneer in the deployment of fiber, has close to 50 million connectable households in Europe at 30 June 2021 giving it a significant lead over all of its rivals.
Orange group revenues were 20.9 billion euros in the first half of 2021, up 1.5 percent year on year on a comparable basis. Growth was fueled in particular by equipment sales, which were up 18.4 percent, and IT and integration services, which rose 8.1 percent.
