Orange has become the latest tier 1 operator to wrap up a sizable stake in its FTTH public access network business and gift it to the private sector, selling 50% in the Orange Concessions division to a consortium of local French equity firms. Is this the sort of public-private investment unity that high ranking technology executives and politicians have been calling for to drive the next generation of services, one that North America could observe and learn from? Or did they have something else in mind? Either way, private investments in FTTH are ramping up exponentially, with Orange raking in €1.3 billion ($1.6 billion) in a deal that values the Orange Concessions arm at almost $3.2 billion following agreements with…