French telecom regulator Arcep found that Free Mobile is still meeting its regulatory obligations, with a coverage rate of over 28 percent of the population with 735 operational towers. After a polemic arose on whether Free Mobile was switching off equipment and over-relying on its roaming deal with Orange France, the authority repeated its verifications of the Free Mobile network 'for the sake of transparency and peace of mind' in January and February. The second round of measurements took place alongside the same tests of the Orange France, SFR and Bouygues Telecom networks. Free Mobile is continuing apace with its network rollout, based on the tower authorisations sought with spectrum agency ANFR.
Orange and SFR have met revised targets by covering 98 percent of the population with 3G and Bouygues Telecom more than 93 percent, well over its 75 percent requirement. Arcep president Jean-Ludovic Silicani told the National Assembly that Free Mobile had switched on over 800 base stations as of the end of February. The operator is required to cover 75 percent of the population in January 2015 and 90 percent three years later. A significant part of Free Mobile's traffic is going over the Orange network, but less than the 90 percent of calls reported in mid-January. It is a private contract between Free and Orange, and Arcep would only get involved if referred.
Orange and SFR have met revised targets by covering 98 percent of the population with 3G and Bouygues Telecom more than 93 percent, well over its 75 percent requirement. Arcep president Jean-Ludovic Silicani told the National Assembly that Free Mobile had switched on over 800 base stations as of the end of February. The operator is required to cover 75 percent of the population in January 2015 and 90 percent three years later. A significant part of Free Mobile's traffic is going over the Orange network, but less than the 90 percent of calls reported in mid-January. It is a private contract between Free and Orange, and Arcep would only get involved if referred.
