French mobile network operator SFR is displeased with the competition authority's recent recommendation that it and the country's other two networks, Orange and Bouygues Telecom, open their 3G infrastructure to roaming by newcomer Free Mobile. SFR CEO Frank Esser said at a conference on telecommunications and the internet organised by Les Echos that Free had a choice between operating commercially as an MVNO or owning a network. It chose the latter option, which entails an obligation to deploy infrastructure. He added that SFR invested EUR 300 million in May to buy additional 3G spectrum and does not see why it should give Free access to this valuable asset free of charge. According to the report, operators fear that Free will roll out a minimal network and operate mainly over its competitors' existing infrastructure, despite its licence obligation to cover 85 percent of the population with its own infrastructure by 2018. Esser said that demand for mobile internet capacity from SFR's own customers means that there is no way that it will enter into 3G access talks with Free Mobile. He added that it was not so much a question of money, but rather one of capacity.
