French regulator Arcep has published a document highlighting its priorities to prepare the country for the launch of 5G services, as part of a roadmap agreed with the government. The work programme is sponsored by secretaries of state Mounir Mahjoubi and Delphine Geny-Stephann, who are in charge of digital affairs and economic affairs, respectively. Among the main targets set in the roadmap, France will allocate new 5G frequencies and ensure a commercial rollout in at least one major city by 2020, while the main transport routes will be covered by 2025.
The government aims to encourage industry players to develop new services and infrastructure, guided by the feedback from the consultation launched at the end of 2017, ensuring transparency and an open dialogue on the rollouts. Working groups are being created to undertake the action points identified in the roadmap, under the direction of the regulator and the Directorate-General for Enterprise (DGE).
Arcep’s previous initiatives include two public consultations on 5G frequencies, of which the latest was on the 26 GHz band, and authorisations for trials using 3.5 GHz spectrum. Two additional consultation documents are in the pipeline, one on the 1.5 GHz band (“L band”) and the other, in October, defining the allocation procedures for 5G frequencies.
Among its priorities, the regulator will look at the feasibility of network sharing and at ways to accelerate backhaul solutions. On this latter point, it has established the right of operators to use surplus fibre to connect mobile base stations. Meanwhile, it has already granted 22 trial authorisations and will continue to examine any request in the 3.4-3.8 GHz and 24.25-27.5 GHz bands.
Alongside these actions, Arcep will back the government’s plan to bring together industry stakeholders from sectors such as connected vehicles, smart farming, and industry 4.0. This strategy will also be supported by secretaries of state Mahjoubi and Geny-Stephann as co-presidents of CNI Numerique, the newly announced digital arm of the national council for industry.
