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Articles tagged with: Arcep

Fibre and mobile deployment: dont release pressure

on Thursday, 23 April 2020 Posted in Archives Rezopole

Fibre and mobile deployment: dont release pressure

Sébastien Soriano, the president of Arcep, was heard on the issue of network deployment by the Senate commission on regional planning and sustainable development. The latter sent him a "strong request" to maintain the schedules, even in the current context, and urged the regulator to "exercise its power of control and sanctions in the event of non-compliance with the objectives assigned to them".

Adjustments will no doubt be necessary, but the commission points out that "the current crisis also reveals the flaws of our digital society", since "part of our population is now disconnected as well as being confined".

 

The two major projects currently underway are the France Very High Speed Internet plan for the deployment of fibre optics and the New Deal Mobile to accelerate 4G deployment.

Even if a shift in the timetable is likely, the Senate committee calls for the Arcep to be firm in its consideration of requests for extensions to deadlines in order "not to accept any delay justified by the crisis". It also asks operators to make a financial effort "in the direction of lower-ranking companies" to support the sector and avoid its disorganisation.

 

For his part, the president of the Arcep indicated that the risks of network saturation were under control thanks to the measures taken by operators and the empowerment of consumers and video content providers. However, this aspect will have to be developed after the crisis, even if it means introducing a "derogation proportionate to the neutrality of the Web".

 

 

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Source : Génération NT

 

 

 

 

Bouygues tackles the price of SFRs fibre network

on Friday, 17 April 2020 Posted in Archives Rezopole

Bouygues tackles the price of SFRs fibre network

As part of the France Très Haut Débit plan, the operator in the red square has undertaken to cover around 20% of medium-density fibre territories, compared with 80% for Orange. They are, however, obliged to open up these networks to other operators at "reasonable prices" under the Arcep.
However, SFR has recently decided to increase its tariffs and the move has irritated Bouygues Telecom's staff.

 

Bouygues Telecom, like other operators, considers that the rates charged by SFR are no longer "reasonable". So much so that Martin Bouygues' operator formally filed a request for dispute settlement with Arcep more than two months ago. In detail, SFR's so-called "co-financing" tariff has been increased from EUR 5.32 to EUR 5.80 per line per month as of 1 February. The rental price for a single line rose from EUR 16.40 to EUR 16.73 per month.

 

SFR was already more expensive than Orange before its price increase. These prices are all the more unjustified since connecting to the network of the operator with the red square is, for technical reasons, more expensive than at Orange. Some argue that SFR's strategy is designed to discourage its rivals from offering competing fibre offers in the medium-density area.

 

This risk was recently mentioned by the chairman of Arcep, Sébastien Soriano: "Today, in private areas, Arcep is working on a project in progress, since one of the major operators deploying fibre has pricing practices that raise questions. I mean that we are working on it. The Arcep will not leave any stowaways in the system. It will not let a player take advantage of the situation to charge higher prices by having established a private monopoly. You can count on the Arcep to dot the i's on that."

 

A good connoisseur of the sector, however, tempers criticism of SFR. On the one hand, he argues that Patrick Drahi's operator has a higher cost base than Orange. On the other hand, he wonders why Bouygues Telecom only applies to Arcep today, when the rental price of SFR's line has remained stable since 2012. He also believes that Bouygues Telecom could also have chosen to co-invest, at least in part, with SFR, instead of resorting solely to the rental of single lines. In any event, it is now up to the regulator to arbitrate.

 

 

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Source : La Tribune

 

 

 

 

2G / 3G roaming: extension for Orange and Free?

on Thursday, 09 April 2020 Posted in Archives Rezopole

2G / 3G roaming: extension for Orange and Free?

Even though its network had not yet been built, Free Mobile was able to play a real role as the fourth largest telecoms operator on the French market as soon as it arrived in 2012. How did this happen? Thanks to the 2G / 3G roaming agreement negotiated with Orange.

An agreement validated by the Arcep on the condition that it is only temporary. Roaming between Orange and Free was therefore scheduled to end at the end of 2020 but both operators have just requested an extension until the end of 2022.

 

On February 24th, the Arcep indicated that it had received an amendment announcing an extension until December 31, 2022. This amendment is justified by "the impossibility for Free Mobile to catch up with the market coverage standard which has increased significantly with the Crozon mutualisation agreement and the New Deal obligations despite a very proactive deployment".

Free also points to the need for 2G coverage in order to maintain a certain number of subscribers in 2G but without having the resources to deploy a network. In addition, the other operators maintain 2G as a "fallback technology in certain situations, particularly indoors at peak times".

 

This news is not going to be well received by Bouygues Telecom and SFR. Indeed, they have constantly denounced the roaming agreement between their competitors, considering it to be a competitive advantage for Free.

SFR's representatives are already castigating Free's decision to distribute dividends and to try to prolong the agreement instead of investing in its networks.

SFR and Bouygues Telecom have announced the suspension of the payment of dividends, but this is also in order to benefit from government aid linked to the short-time working of some of the staff.

 

 

 

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Source : Génération NT

 

 

 

 

Orange & Free: sharing mobile networks

on Friday, 06 March 2020 Posted in Archives Rezopole

Orange & Free: sharing mobile networks

This partnership between Orange and Free - known as the "passive mutualisation agreement" - will last at least five years and aims to share and build together mobile phone masts in rural areas. In other words, the operators would share masts and their operating costs, but each would graft its own radio equipment onto them. The territories concerned are located in a so-called "priority deployment zone" (or PDZ), i.e. rural territories where mobile coverage is poor or insufficient.

 

In general, this type of agreement allows operators to significantly lower their costs in order to cover sparsely populated and therefore unprofitable areas. However, the stakes here are a little different for Orange.

Today, any operator wishing to deploy a new tower in the ZDP is faced with a "prior consultation obligation". He must warn his rivals to find out if they are interested in sharing the site. This obligation appeared in January 2018 during the New Deal in order to put an end to the "white" and "grey" zones. But at the time, this provision was unacceptable for Orange, which considered it ruined all these efforts to differentiate the ZDP.

 

The Arcep then reviewed its copy and proposed that if an operator made an offer to one of its rivals for passive pooling in ZDPs that it considered reasonable, then the obligation of prior consultation could be waived. Orange therefore asked the regulator to lift this obligation. Free made the same request, but only for sites that would be co-constructed with Orange.

For its part, the Arcep has launched a public consultation to gather the sector's opinion on this subject but also concerning a possible removal, for all players, of this obligation.

 

The question of the pooling of mobile infrastructures has become eminently strategic for operators with the arrival of 5G next summer. SFR and Bouygues Telecom have long shared a large part of their mobile infrastructures in less densely populated areas. A similar agreement between Orange and Free would enable them to be more competitive. This is particularly true for Xavier Niel's operator, which is forced to make greater efforts to improve its national coverage.

 

 

 

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Source : La Tribune

 

 

 

 

5G: the 4 major operators in the starting-blocks

on Thursday, 27 February 2020 Posted in Archives Rezopole

5G: the 4 major operators in the starting-blocks

The names of the operators who will participate in the allocation of the first frequencies dedicated to 5G were unveiled by Arcep on 26 February. Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom and Free have therefore applied. The four major national operators will compete in an auction, scheduled to start in mid-April, to win back as many frequencies as possible. And the stakes are high: those who win the most spectrum will be able to offer a better service than the others.

 

For the Arcep, the fact that the four major operators have responded is a source of satisfaction. For the president of the institution, Sébastien Soriano, it proves that the conditions of this sale "are reasonable". Even if some operators have shouted the opposite in recent months, believing that the government was financially too greedy. They also felt that the spectrum came with obligations to cover the territory - especially rural areas, which are much less profitable than cities - too large and costly.

 

No other telecom players applied for 5G, including the large MVNOs. The same is true for industrialists in different sectors. It must be said that the allocation requires the purchase of a minimum of 40 MHz of frequencies. This measure, which aims "to avoid the fragmentation of the spectrum" explains Sébastien Soriano, has de facto "set the bar a little high" for industrialists.

 

Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom and Free, provided they comply with the required commitments, should each recover a block of 50 MHz at a fixed price of 350 million euros. 350 million. A battle will follow for the remaining 110 MHz, which will be auctioned in blocks of 10 MHz, but no operator will be able to win more than 100 MHz of spectrum in total.

 

The Arcep is due to determine in the coming weeks how the auctions will be conducted. Several modalities are still to be worked out.

It should be noted that during the auctions, operators will not be allowed to discuss and agree on certain common strategies among themselves, which would distort competition. If there is no change in the agenda, the regulator expects the frequencies to be allocated in June. Operators will then be able to start rolling out 5G in early summer, in July.

 

 

 

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Source : La Tribune

 

 

 

 

Frequency 5G: Applications are open

on Monday, 13 January 2020 Posted in Archives Rezopole

Frequency 5G: Applications are open

This time, let's do it! Operators who wish to launch into 5G can now apply to the Arcep for frequencies in the 3.4 - 3.8 GHz band. Operators must apply before 12 noon on February 25th 2020.

The regulatory authority will examine the applications and issue authorisations during the first half of 2020. It is expected that the four operators - Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom and Free Mobile - will be successful at the end of the award procedure.

 

As resources are limited, the real question is how many frequencies each applicant will have.

A mixed allocation system has been planned: the frequencies are divided into fixed-price lots and variable-price lots, which will be determined by auction. The fixed-price lots each contain a 50 MHz block, while the variable-price lots consist of a 10 MHz block. An operator must apply for at least 40 MHz and is not allowed to have more than 100 MHz.

Fixed price blocks are sold for EUR 350 million each. The others start at EUR 70 million.

However, the government does not intend to squeeze the candidates and a certain flexibility in the purchase of frequencies is thus provided for: the 10 MHz blocks can be paid for over 4 years and the 50 MHz blocks over 15 years - this is the duration of the allocation of frequencies. This is the duration of the frequency allocation, which may be extended if necessary.

 

 

 

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Source : Numerama

 

 

 

 

5G: entrance ticket at 350 million euros

on Thursday, 19 December 2019 Posted in Archives Rezopole

5G: entrance ticket at 350 million euros

On December 17th last, Arcep announced that it had agreed with the authorities on the specifications for the future 5G call for tenders. To afford the first 50 MHz blocks in the 3.5 GHz band, each operator will have to pay the fixed sum of 350 million euros but also meet the various commitments set by the authorities.

The remaining 110 MHz, in the band concerned, will be auctioned in blocks of 10 MHz. The starting price for the latter was set at €70 million. However, this should not be the business of operators. Indeed, they were campaigning for the authority not to set too high amounts in order to allow them to invest more heavily in the deployment of their future 5G networks.

The authorities should therefore obtain from this call for tenders, at least, a total sum of "2.17 billion euros for all the frequencies allocated". However, they have not been greedy in the light of the various 5G auctions organised by our neighbours, such as in Germany or Italy.

 

The specifications should be published in the coming days and will officially launch the award procedure conducted by Arcep. Candidate operators will then have eight weeks to prepare their application files.

Applicants will not be able to obtain less than 40 MHz of frequencies and will therefore not be able to obtain more than 100 MHz of frequencies in the 3.5 GHz band. The frequencies will be allocated for a period of 15 years and may be extended for a further 5 years if there is a subsequent agreement between the authorities and the operators concerned.

The examination of the applications submitted by the candidates should start in March. The Arcep will make its arbitrations and allocate the first fixed blocks of 5G frequencies at the end of March. The actual auctions will take place in May, while the procedure will be finalised in June.

 

However, the obligations on operators will not change. As initially planned by Arcep, the specifications provide for the opening of 5G in at least two cities per operator before the end of 2020. Subsequently, operators will be forced to deploy their services on 3,000 sites in 2022, 8,000 sites in 2024 and finally 10,500 sites in 2025.

But let's not forget the rural areas. Thus, 25% of the sites in the 3.5 GHz band "of the last two milestones will have to be deployed in an area bringing together municipalities in sparsely populated areas and those in industrial areas, outside the main urban areas", Arcep said.

The Authority also states that "from 2022 onwards, at least 75% of the sites must have a throughput of at least 240 Mbit/s at each site. This obligation will gradually be extended to all sites until 2030".

In addition, as provided for in European texts, roads are also a priority. Coverage of motorway-type roads will thus have to be ensured in 2025, before coverage of the main roads is planned for 2027.

Operators will also have to undertake to respond to "reasonable" requests from companies and public authorities, in order to provide them with "appropriate offers with coverage and performance, or, if the operator prefers, by entrusting them with its frequencies locally".

The authorities are demanding more cooperation between operators in order to ensure better indoor coverage of buildings and to ensure greater transparency on their deployment forecasts and breakdowns. Finally, operators will also have to undertake to welcome MVNOs to their respective networks "in order in particular to encourage innovation by all actors in the sector".

 

 

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Source : ZDNet

 

 

 

5G frequencies too expensive for operators

on Friday, 06 December 2019 Posted in Archives Rezopole

5G frequencies too expensive for operators

On 22th November last, the Arcep adopted the procedures for allocating frequencies in the 3.5 Ghz band. Two days later, the government announced the reserve price below which it did not intend to transfer the first portion of spectrum dedicated to the 5G mobile network. And the operators make a face: the floor price seems far too high to them.

4 sets of 50 MHz allocated to each of the four operators at a fixed price of 350 million euros. Then 11 blocks of 10 Mhz that they will then compete at auction, bidding 70 million euros. 2.17 billion, while Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom and Free did not expect this reserve price to exceed The Arcep even campaigned for a prize of 1.5 billion "grand maximum".

In an interview at Les Echos, however, Agnès Pannier-Runacher presents this amount as "reasonable". In particular with regard to the sums paid by German or Italian operators. The representative of Bercy also argued that this figure corresponds to that determined by the Commission des Participations et Transferts, which "analyses the price below which the French people's assets do not seem to him to have to be sold".

 

A discourse that clashed with the operational and financial reality of 5G, reacted the operators. "This decision is not consistent with what has been put forward by the government in recent months," said Arthur Dreyfuss, President of the TFF. It constantly warns the State against a price boom that would deprive operators of the means to invest in deployment afterwards. Especially since the obligations assigned to them in return for the allocation of frequencies seem too ambitious.

 

5G frequencies too expensive: another dispute on the road to the future mobile network. Their disagreements relate not only to the reserve price, but also to the size of fixed-price blocks, the pace of deployment, 5G hedging obligations and the duration of licences. A non-exhaustive list of demands on which the regulator is far from having satisfied the Telecom Quartet.

 

Against the advice of Arcep, which favoured 60 MHz blocks, the state finally opted for 50 MHz. "With 50 MHz blocks, for a total of 310 MHz, the risk is that one operator will get twice as many frequencies as another," explained Sébastien Soriano, President of the Arcep, in Le Figaro. Bouygues Telecom and Free fear that they will lose out in the deal as they are less well equipped financially to bid higher.

Iliad also called for the removal of the third milestone in the deployment of 5G sites - 12,000 at the end of 2025 - for operators who would not obtain the famous 60 MHz. Arcep did not grant this right, but this obligation has been reduced to 10,500 sites. An adjustment reflecting the many criticisms encountered by the initial schedule. This assumed an acceleration of 1,000 sites per year from 2020 to 2022 and then to 2,500/year in 2023-2024 and 4,000/year in 2025 alone.

Bouygues Telecom, Orange and Free replied that they were unplayable, citing technical, financial and administrative constraints. Operators simply do not have the means to make the "leap" of 4,000 sites initially expected in 2025, argues Bouygues Telecom. For whom, moreover, "there is also no capacitive need of this magnitude on this horizon".

 

8,000 sites in 2024 and 10,500 in 2025 finally but not only in urban areas. The Arcep intends to ensure that the deployment of 5G will also benefit low-density areas, in line with government expectations. The regulator initially proposed to extend this obligation to the 22,000 municipalities of priority deployment areas (PDAs) as defined by the 2015 decision on the allocation of 700 MHz frequencies.

Again, there was no unanimity on this idea. Bouygues Telecom is not going about it in four ways: "Hedging obligations are very heavy and inconsistent with the object sold". For the operator, the 3.4-3.8 GHz band is intended for uses primarily for capacity, so that its use "is not relevant in sparsely populated areas".

Also mentioned by other actors, an approach consisting in prioritizing 5G deployments on "territories that we are sure will not benefit from FttH before a date to be determined". One of the approaches mentioned by Cerema or by the Assembly of French Departments is to use fixed 5G to compensate for future deficiencies in very high wireline broadband.

Finally, the opportunity to add the ZDP perimeter to the very recent list of "Industrial Territories" is suggested by several actors: Cerema again, but also Banque des Territoires or Orange. An addition finally retained by the Arcep in its specifications.

The last point of contention on the part of operators is the granting of 5G licences for an initial period of only fifteen years, which can be extended by five years after the Arcep's assessment. The Authority considers that this period is "appropriate to the level of investment required to fulfil the obligations under the procedure". Not Orange, Bouygues Telecom and SFR: the trio believes that this will not be enough to make their investments profitable.

 

 

 

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Source : DegroupNews

 

 

 

 

Barometer Arcep of the transition to IPv6

on Thursday, 21 November 2019 Posted in Archives Rezopole

Barometer Arcep of the transition to IPv6

The Arcep publishes its annual barometer of the transition to IPv6 and sets up a task force to accelerate the process.

 

The stock of available IPv4 addresses will be exhausted by the end of 2019, and the Internet will "stop growing". A shortage that is already leading to a significant increase in the price of IPv4 addresses on the secondary market, thus creating an entry barrier for new players on the Internet. As a challenge for competitiveness and innovation, the migration to IPv6 for all Internet players is now urgent.

This barometer examines all players in the Internet chain and the progress of their transition to IPv6. In particular, it presents the current status of deployments and the forecasts of the main operators for fixed and mobile networks.

 

Once again this year, Arcep warns that most of the players are not considering a deployment to address the IPv4 shortage. The Authority invites the entire Internet ecosystem to accelerate their transition to IPv6, the only sustainable solution.

On the fixed network, Arcep notes progress but calls on operators to continue and strengthen their efforts. On the mobile network, it alerts operators to the delay in IPv6 deployment and calls on them to take the necessary measures to address the IPv4 shortage.

A summary of the results, by operator, is to be found in the press release.

On the hosting side, the delay is still as significant as ever. Only 15.5% of the three and a half million domain name websites (.fr,.re,.pm,.yt,.tf and.wf) are currently accessible in IPv6. With only 5.8% of mail servers accessible in IPv6, the mail hosting rate is alarming.

 

The launch meeting dedicated to IPv6 was held on 15 November. This task force is open to all players in the Internet ecosystem and aims to accelerate the transition to IPv6 by enabling participants to address specific issues and share best practices.

 

 

 

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Source : Arcep

 

 

 

 

IPv6: France turns to the EU

on Thursday, 31 October 2019 Posted in Archives Rezopole

IPv6: France turns to the EU

In early June, AOTA, the Association of Alternative Telecommunications Operators, called on the government to "address the transition to IPv6 and the preservation of the competitive balance".

 

The Directorate General for Enterprise (DGE) has just replied: "the transition to this new communication protocol now appears to be a major challenge for competitiveness and innovation". However, it states that "the government's capacity to act in this area is limited by the lack of a legislative basis to regulate this type of resource, as IP addresses are managed at the international level by ICANN and allocated directly at the European level by the European Internet registry, the Amsterdam-based RIPE NCC".

To find a solution, "the French authorities will propose to the Presidency of the Council of the European Union that it put the issue of the transition to IPv6 on the agenda of a working group of the Telecommunications and Information Society Council and that it refer the matter to the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) for its opinion".

 

Despite a "timid response", the AOTA welcomes the fact that the State is taking the issue seriously. The Chief Electoral Officer also points out that the Arcep can play a supporting role in facilitating the transition to IPv6, and that a "task force" will soon be set up by the Arcep on this subject".

 

 

 

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Source : Next Inpact

 

 

 

 

The Court of Appeal validates Arcep s decision

on Thursday, 31 October 2019 Posted in Archives Rezopole

The Court of Appeal validates Arcep s decision

Free had been involved for several years in co-financing the FTTH networks deployed by Orange and was challenging several terms of its contract with the incumbent operator. The Regulatory Authority had settled this dispute in Free's favour, but Orange had been challenging the legality of the dispute since then. The Paris Court of Appeal upheld Arcep's decision in an order dated 26th September 2019.

 

The planned renewal of the term and conditions of access to Orange's infrastructure was contested by Free. Arcep confirmed that they did not meet Free's needs for visibility and transparency and therefore imposed on Orange to grant a right of access for a defined period of time and at least 40 years. In its decision, the Court of Appeal confirmed that these conditions are "not sufficiently precise in view of Free's need for visibility over the effective duration of this right".

In addition, Arcep considered that it was justified and reasonable for Free to obtain information on the formation of access tariffs for Orange FTTH networks in less dense private initiative areas. This was also supported by the Court of Appeal, which stated that these tariffs were "directly linked to the financial terms of the bid, which it seeks to ensure is fair".

Finally, the Regulatory Authority considered that the incumbent operator should allow Free to connect mobile base stations in less dense areas of private initiative via the extra optical fibres of the FTTH network deployed by Orange and co-financed by Free. A point that has not been contested by Orange in its appeal.

 

In addition, the Paris Court of Appeal held that the decision did not affect business confidentiality and confirmed Arcep's analysis. And noting that the information that Orange must provide to Free pursuant to the decision "is characterized by a very high degree of aggregation, both geographically and by expense items".

 

 

 

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Source : Le Monde Informatique

 

 

 

 

Arcep unveils 5G projects in the 26 GHz band

on Thursday, 10 October 2019 Posted in Archives Rezopole

Arcep unveils 5G projects in the 26 GHz band

On October 7th, Arcep announced the first projects selected to use the 26 GHz frequency band. Called "millimetre band", according to the regulator, this band represents "an extremely localized capacitive contribution for very high speed mobile networks in very dense areas, mainly in urban or suburban areas, in specific locations (ports, factories...) or inside buildings".

 

The regulator and the government issued a call for projects in January 2019 to identify the uses of 5G in this frequency band. In total, 11 projects have been validated by the authorities to test 5G on the 26 GHz band for 3 years. Sébastien Soriano explains "the fundamental challenge is the Internet of things, an almost infinite universe is opening up to us".

 

Heterogeneous proposals:

  • the major seaport of Le Havre is seeking to develop the port city of tomorrow.
  • Bordeaux Metropole will use the 5G to manage the connected streetlights and thus ensure intelligent energy management within the municipalities concerned.
  • With a view to the 2024 Olympic Games, the Saint-Quentin en Yvelines national velodrome will be able to test 5G for the media.
  • SNCF will be able to observe the benefits of 5G in Rennes station with different cases of use affecting both users and SNCF agents.

 

 

 

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Source : Le Monde Informatique

 

 

 

 

Arcep : Orange "attacks the French regulatory model".

on Friday, 13 September 2019 Posted in Archives Rezopole, Archives GrenoblIX, Archives LyonIX

Arcep : Orange

In its newsletter on Monday, the Arcep college published an editorial to review the implications of a recent picket by the incumbent operator. Indeed, at the end of the summer, Orange submitted a Priority Question of Constitutionality (QPC) to the Conseil d'Etat in order to challenge the telecoms regulator's power to impose sanctions. But according to the college, Orange "[challenges] the pragmatic spirit of French-style regulation". With this initiative, the incumbent operator "does not attack the Arcep so much but attacks the French regulatory model more broadly", says Sébastien Soriano, President of the Arcep.

 

The sanctioning power of the Arcep is vital for the proper functioning of the current regulation, the college stresses in its editorial. In particular, it would not be possible to benefit from "the commitments that operators can make on competitive or territorial coverage issues", argues the telecoms police officer. "Without control and sanctions, these commitments would only be paper," he insists.

 

Very upset by the initiative of the incumbent operator, Sébastien Soriano said "I am not sure that Orange has measured all the consequences". The President of Arcep says that if his power of sanction were to disappear, then France would have to choose another regulatory model. Wishing to take advantage of the "synergy between infrastructures and services", it decided to leave the incumbent operator in charge of its network for its deployments.

Sébastien Soriano explains "We felt that Orange, because of its need to win back customers in the fixed Internet, had an incentive to invest in fibre", seeing it as a "positive market dynamic. But the counterpart of this choice is that the regulator must check on a daily basis that Orange is not taking advantage of this situation by giving itself an advantage on the retail market. This is called non-discrimination. To ensure this, regular monitoring and sanction procedures are required. Without them, we would potentially be forced to choose much more radical regulatory approaches..."

And ends by correcting: "It's not a threat, it's factual".

 

 

 

 

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Source : La Tribune

 

 

 

 

Orange wants to cut the whistle of the Arcep

on Thursday, 05 September 2019 Posted in Archives Rezopole, Archives GrenoblIX, Archives LyonIX

Orange wants to cut the whistle of the Arcep

The incumbent operator has submitted a Priority Question of Constitutionality to the Council of State, which can thus deprive the telecom police of its sanctioning powers and render the operators' commitments ineffective.

 

Unveiled on Tuesday by Le Monde, this request challenges the legal validity of a formal notice sent to it by Arcep last January. Indeed, the regulator criticized Orange for not respecting its obligations towards other telecom operators when it makes its fixed networks available to them. For the time being, this request is only at the preliminary stage. It will only be examined by the "Wise Men" of the Constitutional Council if the Council of State decides to transfer the file to it.

 

But in reality, it is a much broader problem. The incumbent operator argues that Arcep is both judge and party at the same time and that there is too much permeability between its three missions: to enact rules for the market, to control telecom operators and also to sanction them in the event of non-compliance with their obligations.
The regulator would de facto be deprived of its power to impose sanctions if the Conseil d'État were to rule in favour of the operator. In short, if the Arcep can no longer sanction abuses, the shipyards will fall behind and the objectives to boost French access to very high speed will not be met.

 

Orange assures that the procedure is a legal issue and will not affect the commitments made. The operator points out that in 2013 the Arcep has already been deprived of its power to impose sanctions in a similar procedure.
 

 

 

 

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Source : Les Echos

 

 

 

 

4G: the Arcep hits the table with its fist

on Wednesday, 07 August 2019 Posted in Archives Rezopole, Archives GrenoblIX, Archives LyonIX

4G: the Arcep hits the table with its fist

The telecoms police officer has just sent an early formal notice to Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom and Iliad-Free regarding the "New Mobile Deal". Indeed, Arcep considers that the commitments made by operators under this agreement, dating from January 2018, are not progressing fast enough.

 

At the time, the State agreed to renew part of the frequencies granted to operators for ten years and free of charge. A "gift" with a counterpart, however: the operators had undertaken to cover the territory more, particularly in the famous "white areas".

By the end of 2020, they must have converted all their existing 2G and 3G sites to 4G and improve mobile coverage on transport routes (from 2018) and inside buildings (from 2019).

 

But a year and a half after the signing, the regulator would find that progress was insufficient. "The regulator has no confidence in the operators, he believes that this case is dragging on," explains a source familiar with the case.

If the targets were not met by the 2020 deadline, early warning would make it possible to initiate sanctions more quickly without wasting time.

 

Aware that operators have always had difficulty meeting their commitments, the government has organised progress reports on the progress of the work. This was obviously not enough.

However, in June 2018, the government published the first 485 sites on which operators had to install their 4G antennas. For its part, the Arcep had launched its quarterly dashboard. But several observers had already warned of the magnitude of the task. "The deadlines were super-short. We could legitimately be concerned," recalls one participant today.

 

Operators, on the other hand, deny any delay. "Operators are deploying on schedule. ...] We are on the ground every day to solve administrative and technical challenges with the support of communities and government services. Arcep is welcome in the territories and will thus become even more aware of the collective success underway to finally solve the problem of white areas," said Arthur Dreyfuss, President of the French Telecommunications Federation. Summer is therefore likely to be turbulent.

 

 

 

 

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Source : Les Echos

 

 

 

 

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