In 10 years, Axione has helped to create more than 6,000 French jobs in the broadband and super-fast broadband sector

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1 List of press releases [1] 2 July 2013 In 10 years, Axione has helped to create more than 6,000 French jobs in the broadband and super-fast broadband sector Malakoff, 3 July Axione, a Bouygues Energies & Services subsidiary that specialises in regional digital infrastructure planning and development, celebrates its 10th birthday on Thursday 4 July. Today, Axione is taking stock and assessing the impact of this human and industrial venture. It has set up and now operates 15 Public Initiative Networks, which have created more than 6,000 direct and indirect jobs in the sector. It has also become a key partner of major telecommunications companies thanks to its unique and innovative model that combines construction, planning and development. 15 Public Initiative Networks created to facilitate regional digital infrastructure planning and development Axione launched its business plan to facilitate regional digital infrastructure planning and development on 4 July It built France's first ever FTTH super-fast broadband network in the greater Pau area (more than 100,000 residents). The company was spurred on by the passing of the French law on trust in the digital economy in 2004 and went on to sign 15 Public Initiative Network (PIN) contracts over the next ten years. Axione plans, finances, builds, maintains and operates broadband and super-fast broadband infrastructure for 10% of France's population in rural areas. It also sells these pooled networks to local and national telecommunications companies. Over the course of ten years, Axione and Bouygues Energies & Services have overseen nearly Page 1/6

2 600 million of investment in digital infrastructure, with the aim of making the digital services and accessibility found in large urban areas accessible in more rural departments and allowing the 110 telecommunications companies that use the networks Axione operates to offer their best services at the most competitive prices across the country. 'Investing in digital services is a key decision for local authorities. PINs are not only high-performing infrastructure that create construction jobs in the short term. They also offer great potential for growth and innovation in the long term for all regional stakeholders, creating new jobs and making areas more commercially attractive,' explains Eric Jammaron, who heads up Axione's Concessions Division. A unique and innovative model that combines construction, planning and development Axione's business model is the only one of its kind in France. The company is entirely neutral, does not own any infrastructure of its own and does not provide any services to domestic or business customers. It is therefore able to guarantee complete objectivity, transparency and fairness when dealing with telecommunications companies that operate public networks. Axione is also the only neutral telecommunications company to operate across the entire digital operations chain, from planning to operating and commercialising networks. It is part of Bouygues Energies & Services group (a subsidiary of Bouygues Construction) and offers a holistic, collaborative and long-term service to help local authorities with their digital infrastructure projects. More than 6,000 jobs created Axione's investment in digital infrastructure planning and development between 2003 and 2010 helped to create 6,300 direct and indirect jobs in France1. Example >Cienum in the Loire. This digital company increased its turnover by 4.5 in just 8 years and recruited 30 new employees. It now exports super-fast broadband services developed in the Loire, primarily to the Middle East. 700 jobs have been created in the telecommunications sector : 600 at Axione and 100 at local telecommunications companies. 5,600 jobs related to infrastructure construction have been created (e.g. in consultancy and the local public buildings and works sector) and also by the growth of local businesses thanks to Page 2/6

3 opportunities offered by digital technologies. Example > 'Relief', a teaching and training network in the Limousin is installing fibre optic connections between 44 secondary schools, training institutions and nursing training centres. Among other things, this allows for distance learning and training, content streaming, the development of virtual working environments and virtual libraries. The emergence of new usages, such as those relating to e-learning and e-health, is also helping to create new industries and jobs and attract new residents to areas of low population density, thus boosting the economies of these areas and helping to make them more attractive. An industrial and human venture that is going from strength to strength Axione will continue to create new jobs in France, spurred on by the government's proactive policy on developing super-fast broadband. Furthermore, the convergence of digital and electrical infrastructure and increasing disparities in access to digital services in other countries offer Axione new opportunities for growth, particularly in export, an area in which Bouygues Energies & Services is already well-established (in the United Kingdom and Africa). 1st FTTH telecommunications company 1st neutral telecommunications company to offer wholesale triple play ADSL services 1st company to deploy and commercialise WiMAX networks 1st company to use adapted civil engineering techniques to reduce construction costs 1 Page 3/6

4 st company to deploy fibre optic on a high-voltage electrical network on a large scale 1st company to offer convergence services between electrical and digital networks to develop services for local authorities 'Adaptability and innovation are part of our DNA and are a key factor in our past and future success,' explains Jacques Beauvois, Executive Vice-President of Axione. 'Axione's success lies above all in the huge commitment of all its staff, who are passionate about providing the entire country with digital infrastructure, something that is vital to the growth of businesses, populations and local authorities. This determination, this desire to develop methods to industrialise our services, our strong culture of innovation, our team spirit and our loyalty towards our clients and partners all allow us to build long-term relationships based on mutual trust,' explains Pierre-Eric Saint André, Executive Vice-President of Bouygues Energies & Services and Managing Director of Axione. Press contact for Axione : Page 4/6

5 Agence Isée - Véronique Massé, v.masse(a)isee-communication.fr [2] Calculations carried out by the Fédération nationale des travaux publics (French national federation of civil engineering) using its own data and that of the French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE), on investment/employment ratios in infrastructure construction. Axione in a nutshell Operator of 15 PINs Axione's key figures for Approx. 600 employees (from 5 in 2003) - 25 offices in 22 departments - Provides broadband and super-fast broadband coverage for 10% of France representing 6.5 million residents, 13 departments, 4,650 communes and 310,000 businesses. Pau-Pyrénées (SPTHD), Hautes-Pyrénées (Hautes-Pyrénées Numérique), Limousin (Axione Limousin), Ardèche-Drôme Numérique (ADTIM), Loire (LOTIM), Maine-et-Loire (Melisa Exploitation & Melisa Territoires Ruraux), Sarthe (Sartel), Gonfreville TOrcher (Go Télécom), Brest (Penn Ar Bed Numérique), Quimper (QCT Télécom), Tours(TMN), Nièvre (Nivertel), Vaucluse (Vaucluse Page 5/6

6 Numérique), La Rochelle (17 Numérique). Key phases in Axione's growth July 2003: the company is set up with a team of 5 employees. 18 July 2003: Axione signs France's 1st ever contract to provide a fibre optic super-fast broadband network in Pau. February 2004: Axione carries out its 1st fund-raising campaign, attracting investment from the Crédit Mutuel-CIC group. January 2005: launch of the 1st Délégations de Service Public (concession-type contracts) in Maine-et-Loire and Sarthe; signing of the Axione Limousin Délégation de Service Public, Europe's largest Public Initiative Network; signing of the Délégation de Service Public in the Loire. September 2005: Axione acquired by Bouygues Energies & Services. 2006: 1st DSL triple play services on an entirely neutral Public Initiative Network. 2007: 1st 4G WiMAX network comes into service. December 2008: framework supply agreement for Public Initiative Networks signed with SFR. January 2010: Exprimm Télécom-Axione merger offers greater added value to public sector clients and telecommunications companies. December 2010: framework supply agreement for Public Initiative Networks signed with Bouygues Telecom. 2011: framework agreement for fibre optic construction works signed with SFR. April 2012: 1st FTTH framework agreement signed with Orange in Pau. May 2012: framework agreements for the construction and maintenance of fibre optic and 2G/3G/4G radio signed with Bouygues Télécom. November 2012: Axione operates smart electrical infrastructure fitted with Bouygues Energies & Services' Citybox solution, which won the prize for innovation at the Salon des Maires (a trade show for French mayors) and is currently deployed in Boulogne, Sèvres, Niort, Paris, Longjumeau, Thiais, Valenciennes and Singapore. About Bouygues Energies & Services Bouygues Energies & Services, a Bouygues Construction subsidiary, plans, implements, maintains and operates networks (energy and digital infrastructure, electrical and thermal engineering, street lighting, etc.) and local services (facilities management, industrial maintenance, services for local authorities, etc.). Bouygues Energies & Services guarantees the sustainability of its technical solutions and the performance of its services to improve living and working standards for the long term. Bouygues Energies & Services works with clients in both the public and private sectors in the fields of energy, industry, the service sector, transport and telecommunications. Bouygues Energies & Services relies upon the expertise, commitment and responsiveness of its 12,000 employees in France and abroad to deliver innovative solutions with high technological added value to its clients. With 200 offices in France and operations in more than 20 countries worldwide, it achieved a turnover of 1.6 billion in Page 6/6 Powered by TCPDF (