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5G: in a climate of mistrust, France is finally launching the auctions

2020-09-27T08:29:50.779Z


Despite the climate of mistrust, the start of the 5G auctions will finally take place: France, "late" in the deployment of the future mobile network to the chagrin of the government, launches on Tuesday the allocation of the first frequencies, which should bring several billion euros to the state. Initially scheduled for April but postponed due to the epidemic, these auctions should allow operator


Despite the climate of mistrust, the start of the 5G auctions will finally take place: France, "late" in the deployment of the future mobile network to the chagrin of the government, launches on Tuesday the allocation of the first frequencies, which should bring several billion euros to the state.

Initially scheduled for April but postponed due to the epidemic, these auctions should allow operators (Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom, Free) to acquire 11 “blocks” of frequencies that are currently unused, and pave the way for the first commercializations of 5G services in some cities at the end of the year.

5G will be launched in France first using the band from 3.4 to 3.8 gigahertz (GHz) on the electromagnetic spectrum, which classifies the different frequency bands.

The four operators have already each obtained a block of 50 megahertz (MHz) in this band, at the fixed price of 350 million euros.

With the additional 110 MHz involved, the state hopes to collect at least 2.17 billion euros.

Read also: Will we have to change smartphones because of 5G?

Arcep, the French telecoms regulator which oversees auctions, has set a reserve price of 70 million euros per “block”.

An operator will not be able to acquire more than 100 MHz "to give everyone a chance", explains its president, Sébastien Soriano.

The main auction, which is expected to last around ten days, will be followed by a “positioning auction” allowing operators to choose whether they prefer to be in the center of the web or at its ends, more susceptible to interference with d 'other services.

Hostility of part of the public

It does not concern the so-called 26 GHz band, which must bring with its so-called "millimeter" frequencies a real revolution with unparalleled data rates and minimal latency.

This band is currently only the subject of experiments because its potential effects on health remain little known.

However, the first future deployments of 5G arouse the hostility of part of the public opinion and of several local politicians or NGOs, who question the interest for society of this new technology, citing risks to health and the environment.

Nearly 70 left-wing elected officials and environmentalists, including Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Yannick Jadot or the mayor of Marseille Michèle Rubirola, asked in mid-September in a forum for a moratorium on the allocation of frequencies.

But the government wanted to maintain its schedule without waiting for the next report from the National Health Security Agency (ANSES) scheduled for March 2021, highlighting in particular the fact that most advanced countries have already allocated these frequencies.

Read also: Is 5G dangerous for health?

Can this heated political debate, marked by the threat of several local authorities to hamper the future deployment of 5G, have an impact on the behavior of operators during auctions?

"This will change the balance of power a bit," said Guillaume Vaquero, telecoms expert for the Wavestone firm, to AFP.

Restrictions on Chinese giant Huawei

“We were in a pattern where Arcep required operators to make coverage commitments.

There, the operators can say: We are ready to deploy, but what guarantees are you giving us so that we can do so under good conditions?

Because behind, these are colossal investments, ”he adds.

Another element to be taken into account for operators, the strong restrictions on the Chinese giant Huawei, which will in particular force SFR and Bouygues Telecom to change equipment supplier (Ericsson, Nokia) for a large part of their future network.

Notified in early July, the "timing" of the decision of the French authorities raises questions, according to Guillaume Vaquero.

"It is sure that this put the operators in a very delicate position because they had to review their investment plans which are on the scale of a decade", he explains.

The first generation of mobile telephony made it possible to make calls, 2G to add text, 3G to start sending images and 4G to develop mobile internet and video uses.

Ultimately, 5G must accelerate everything, increase the number of video, unblock mobile networks in certain areas, and connect everything that is not currently (factories, transport, etc.).

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2020-09-27

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