Are you used to 4G when surfing the Internet with your phone?
However, we will have to switch fissa to 5G, much more efficient ... this is, in essence, the message of many telephone operators, who are engaged in an advertising hype in order, to the chagrin of the CLCV, which has just attacked SFR and Orange in court for "deceptive commercial practices", according to our information.
Not that this consumer association is against 5G, immediately specifies François Carlier, its general delegate, but “it does not correspond to a pressing need”, insofar as 73% of the approximately 1000 people questioned by the association are say they are “satisfied” with their current 4G coverage.
“Since October, however, the marketing of 5G packages has started, even though the deployment of this network will not be completed until… 2030!
hires Olivier Gayraud, “New technologies” project manager at the CLCV.
It is an understatement to say, therefore, that consumers will not have access to it immediately… ”
"4G compatible 5G" packages
This apparently does not bother some operators, who have already revised their plans upwards, on the grounds that they are "4G compatible with 5G".
If Free has played the card of wisdom, by announcing that its 5G plans will remain based on the price of its 4G plans (19.99 euros per month), on the other hand, SFR's 80 GB plan will go from 20 to 25 euros per month. months for a year, for those who want to switch from 4G to 5G.
Same inflation at Orange, where the 70 GB package will drop from 19.99 euros (4G) to 24.99 euros per month (5G).
"Not only, these packages jump 25%, but they are often accompanied by a commitment over twelve months, which means that the consumer, if he wants to change his mind, will have to pay heavy penalties", adds Olivier Gayraud , which underlines "that in addition to packages, it will also be necessary to buy new telephones".
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And all this for what?
If, on paper, operators like Orange say, without laughing, "5G Orange has arrived", "beyond this national marketing promise, the average consumer does not know, most of the time, if the 5G network is actually available where he lives ”, reproaches the project manager.
It is often necessary to rummage on the sites to find a beginning of information, with surprises at the rendezvous.
A search on the SFR site thus reveals that "SFR's 5G network is now available in Nice (Alpes-Maritimes)" and, evades the text, "will continue its deployment in several large cities in France in 2021".
On its map, Orange for its part lists a few cities already accessible by 5G (including Montpellier, Marseille and an icon appearing… the whole of Ile-de-France).
The speeds put forward remain theoretical
Another criticism formulated by the CLCV: if all the operators boast higher speeds, which allow faster surfing on the Internet, "none gives the speeds observed in real life, since all display a
maximum theoretical speed
", squeals Olivier Gayraud, which recalls that this theoretical flow is that which one obtains "when one is alone next to a relay antenna, which never happens ..."
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We "visited" a 5G relay antenna
For all these reasons, the CLCV therefore attacks SFR and Orange for deceptive commercial practices, and in particular for having “knowingly omitted, in the advertisements relating to the“ 5G compatible 4G plan ”to present in satisfactory conditions the restrictions on use made to this service, such as eligibility (
Editor's note: criterion determining whether you are in a covered area
) or the speeds actually available ”.
“Suddenly, the French will take out these packages for Christmas, without having access to the new service promised for a long time!
», Summarizes François Carlier.
The trial before the Paris court will take place in May 2021. In view of all this, "it is in any case urgent to wait, before going towards 5G", concludes the general delegate of the CLCV.
Especially since the other debates on this upcoming deployment are not closed.
On December 19, the High Council for the Climate estimated that the switch to 5G would play on global warming, by boosting C02 emissions from 18% to 44%.
And the conclusions of ANSES (National Agency for National Security, Food, Work Environment) on the impact of this new technology on health are expected in March 2021.