French telecommunications market sees new entrant and shifts in fiber leadership

The French telecommunications landscape is experiencing both new competition and a shift in infrastructure performance. Meowan, a new operator based in Marquise, has launched its services using the Orange mobile network and 4G/5G box solutions via Orange and Bouygues Telecom networks. Meowan offers various no-commitment mobile plans ranging from 3.99 € to 24.99 € per month, with plans to introduce fiber optic services in the future.

In terms of infrastructure performance, Orange has overtaken Free to become the leader in fiber optic speeds in France. According to 2026 data from Zone ADSL&Fibre, Orange achieved an average speed of 511 Mbit/s. While Orange leads in technical performance, offering speeds up to 8 Gbit/s, it remains the most expensive operator on the market for comparable services, presenting a trade-off between high-speed connectivity and cost-effectiveness for consumers.