Arcep published its observatory of commercial 5G deployments on April 14th. As of March 31th, operators have commercially opened 12,917 5G sites, including 2,838 in the 3.5 GHz band. While analysis of the operators' curves shows that no one is neglecting the fifth-generation technology, not all are moving at the same pace.

With nearly 13,000 sites open in 5G in France at the end of March, mobile network deployment is steady. In just a few months, operators have secured coverage for millions of potential subscribers, and Arcep is even talking about "steady progress for the first few months of 2021."

Orange has activated the most sites and antennas in the 5G "core band" with 1,105 sites in 3.5 GHz. The incumbent operator is also supporting this deployment with 2.1 GHz technology (medium frequencies), enabling speeds equivalent to 4G since it exploits a band already in operation. By 2023, this middle band will provide access to new 5G services in current 4G areas.

Free Mobile continues to do well. Although the operator founded by Xavier Niel has activated fewer 3.5 GHz sites than Orange (824 vs. 1,105), it is the operator that has opened the most sites in France: 8,074 in total, i.e. 1,030 additional sites in one month, compared with 338 for Orange.

Unlike its three competitors, Free is still betting heavily on low frequencies (700 MHz). More than 7,000 sites have been opened in this band, which has lower bandwidths but has the advantage of penetrating buildings better.

As for the other two operators. Bouygues Telecom is still ahead of SFR, and even Orange in the total number of sites, from a statistical point of view. The operator - a subsidiary of the French construction giant - has activated a total of 2,263 sites, including 491 in 3.5 GHz and 2,091 in 2.1 GHz.

In terms of the number of 5G sites opened in 3.5 GHz, SFR is on a par with Bouygues Telecom with a total of 418. But the operator with the red square is clearly behind for the additional sites. Indeed, it has commercially opened 778 sites in 2.1 GHz. That is a total of 1 196 activated 5G sites all frequencies combined. This places SFR quite far from its first competitor.

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Source : Clubic

In parallel with the takeover bid for Polish operator Play in the fall of 2020, Iliad intended to apply in Poland the strategy already adopted in France with Cellnex.

The agreement with the European mobile infrastructure operator, which covers 7,000 sites, was aimed at transferring 60% of the company's structure to Cellnex, and was designed to manage the passive telecoms infrastructure of the French operator's new Polish subsidiary.

It also included a collaboration with Cellnex to build at least 1,500 additional sites over 10 years for €400 million.

On April 1st, Iliad announced that it had finally finalized the extension of its industrial partnership with Cellnex through the sale to the latter of 60% of the company managing passive mobile telecommunications infrastructures in Poland, for the sum of €804 million before tax. This will enable its Polish partner to strengthen its investment capacities and enter a new development cycle with the deployment and acquisition of 5G frequencies, the densification of its mobile network, but above all the desire to enter the fixed-line market on a European scale.

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Source : freenews

Last November, the European Commission approved the acquisition of Covage by SFR FttH. The company is now called Xp Fibre and has a portfolio of 7 million fiber optic connections. It includes 24 Public Initiative Networks (PINs), operated under public service delegations (PSDs); five AMEL zones and two proprietary networks; and 2.6 million outlets in AMII zones.

Its role remains broadly the same as that of SFR FttH, i.e., network deployment, operation and marketing of its own outlets, or through public partnerships, depending on the areas to be equipped.

In detail, SFR FttH already had 5.5 million outlets throughout France, notably through 16 public service partnerships, three AMEL zones and the AMII zone. With this acquisition, Xp Fibre now has 8 DSPs and 4 proprietary networks (including two AMEL).

Each of the deployment areas will benefit from a fiber optic network open to all commercial operators, Xp Fibre being an infrastructure operator. The general public, businesses and local authorities will all be able to subscribe to the access provider of their choice.

"The new entity, made up of the assets of SFR FttH and those resulting from the acquisition of Covage, gives rise to a new, even more ambitious player in the field of fiber for territories and a key player for commercial operators," commented Lionel Recorbet, President of Xp Fibre.

The capital of the new entity remains composed of the Canadian fund OMERS (one of the main defined benefit pension plans in Canada), Altice France and the infrastructure funds of the Axa and Allianz groups, as was that of SFR FttH.

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Source : Clubic

Editorial

"You are holding in your hands the 2021 edition of RezoLink, the directory of interconnected players on the IXPs of Lyon, Grenoble and Annecy, bringing together the network and telecom experts of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. You will also find the local authorities and associations that are partners of France-IX Lyon.

More than 2000 copies of this new edition have been distributed, listing operators, ESNs, hosting companies, public and private players, making it an essential information tool and the Internet & Telecom reference for the region's economic players.

The most perceptive will have noticed the presence of the France IX logo in our pages. Indeed, since December 15, 2020, Rezopole has become France-IX Lyon. This new entity, born from the merger of Rezopole and France-IX, completes a structure already strongly established in Paris and Marseille. At the end of your RezoLink, you will (re)discover the map of all France-IX PoPs.

Enjoy your reading,

The France-IX Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes team "

Download

France-IX Lyon / Rezopole will meet you on April 30th for a morning dedicated to the improvement of BtoB Internet exchanges thanks to LyonIX and GrenobliX infrastructures.

Details will be detailed during this videoconference:
- the IXP part, which improves Internet exchanges between users in a territory, reduces telecom costs, and secures and optimizes the network thanks to the multiple routes offered.
- the NAP part, which provides connected members with direct access to the operators present and their offers. We buy or sell any type of Telecom service with great flexibility.

On the agenda

• General presentation
• What is an IXP / NAP?
  • How does it work?
  • Economic & technical advantages
•  The IXP / NAP of Lyon and Grenoble
  • Members
  • Offers & services
  • Connection solutions
• Events & Tools
• Questions & Answers

Useful information

• Schedule from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
• Link of the videoconference sent by email the day before the event

 Register

On March 23th, Free announced its commercial offers for businesses: Free Pro. This offer is aimed at very small businesses, SMEs, but also local authorities and individual entrepreneurs who do not have the resources to buy services from competitors.

Free Pro will provide professionals with a 100% fiber-optic 10 EPON Freebox, featuring tri-band WiFi combined with a repeater. In order to guarantee an Internet connection even in the event of a power cut, this box has an external 4G modem and is based on both Free's fiber network and that of Jaguar Network. It also has a NAS function that allows you to save up to 200 GB of data in the cloud, WiFi 5 and standard WPA3 protection.

Free hopes to make a difference thanks to the supposed reliability of its hardware: the box is equipped with a dedicated OS that is capable of self-diagnosis thanks to AI. The operator also pledges to provide online assistance within eight hours with dedicated support based in France. The offer includes two fixed lines, with unlimited calls to mobiles in France and in more than 100 destinations around the world, as well as an unlimited 4G/5G mobile package.

The operator is also taking the opportunity to launch a mobile offer for professionals, which is not really different from its general public offer. For €19.99/month, you get 150 GB of 4G/5G data, 25 GB of roaming from more than 70 destinations and unlimited calls to mobiles and landlines to more than 100 international destinations. The subtlety is its customer service dedicated to professionals, accessible 7 days a week from 7am to 8pm, with a commitment to obtain a response within eight hours.

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Source : Journal du Geek

In Lévis Saint Nom, in the Yvelines department, a team of Orange technicians is working to remove the overhead copper lines in the town. This experiment should prepare the great operation of "decommissioning" of copper that will concern the whole country from 2023.

Drawn from the sixties and especially in the seventies, copper lines have brought telephone service to the French. They then allowed access to the Internet via ADSL technology in the late 90s. In December 2020, Arcep still counted 16 million households using ADSL. A figure that will decline inexorably due to the effect of fiber optic connections. Indeed, the government has set itself the goal of connecting everyone to FttH by 2025.

It was therefore becoming difficult to maintain this aging network, which is energy-intensive and expensive to maintain. With 22.6 million lines still active and 1.1 million cables, 60% of which are in underground trenches, this is a titanic undertaking.

Orange, the historical owner of the copper network, has signed an agreement with Arcep to conduct dismantling tests.

"We chose Lévis Saint Nom to begin with because of its 1,600 inhabitants, its 700 homes and the fact that there are few businesses. This typology is representative of 80% of the communes in France," explains Laurence Thouveny, Director of Orange Île-de-France.

When the "decommissioning" process began in June 2020, there were still 120 copper customers in the commune. Each commercial operator then had to convince its customers to switch to fiber with the guarantee, for those using only the telephone, to have similar tariff offers. Eight subscribers are still clinging to copper, but on March 31, whatever happens, Orange will cut everything.

"There is no technical difficulty with stopping copper. The main issue is to accompany customers and contact them one by one to propose alternative offers," summarizes the technical director and information systems of Orange Marc Blanchet.

The extinction of copper has only just begun and should not be completed before 2030. This long process will be carried out in patches, zone by zone, with extremely long lead times of several years.

Finally, the disappearance of copper does not mean the end of the fixed telephone, which will be able to continue to function via optical fiber, without any obligation to subscribe to an Internet service.

After Lévis Saint Nom, two other cities will be chosen in the coming weeks to continue the experiment.

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Source : 01net

In a press release, af2m (French Association for the Development of Multi-operator Multimedia Services and Uses) "welcomes Iliad's membership, which joins Bouygues Telecom, Orange and SFR among its operator members".

The association has been working to "develop and promote multi-operator B2B2C services while respecting and protecting the end user" for more than 15 years. Among the subjects of concern: segmented advertising, payment solutions on operator invoices, SMS marketing, etc.

For af2m "This membership is an opportunity for all digital players who will be able to offer their professional customers (companies, online service providers, local authorities, associations, etc.) services that are now accessible to all French mobile and Internet users".

This will certainly prepare the launch of the operator's B2B offer: Free Pro. A launch that has been imminent for months... but is finally becoming clearer. As a reminder, Free's parent company is still not a member of the French Telecom Federation.

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Source : Next Inpact

Arcep has just given its position on the quality of fiber connections. The verdict: although the split of the fiber connection sector between infrastructure operators and commercial operators has allowed a "massive acceleration" of the deployment of fiber in France, it has also led to abuses. As illustrated by the "noodle dishes" that too often overflow from civil engineering cabinets.

Indeed, for the French telecom regulator, even if the door is open to all commercial operators who request it in order to improve competition and to pull prices down, they must continue to prioritize quality over quantity.

And the STOC mode is particularly in the line of fire of the Authority. It reminds that "In this respect, the decision of Arcep is very clear: the regulatory framework fully allows an infrastructure operator to suspend the access of a commercial operator to the STOC mode in case of repeated failure on its part to comply with reasonable technical specifications and the rules of the art".

The problem of the final connection is not new. But in order to face the increasing number of reports and the rise of dissatisfaction, Infranum has just announced a major agreement between infrastructure operators and commercial operators. The operators have committed to improving the safety and quality of interventions, by reinforcing contractual procedures for the recovery of defects and by carrying out joint audits between infrastructure operators and commercial operators.

The agreement announced by Infranum provides for the collective assumption of network repair costs, according to a distribution key approved by Arcep, whereas the law stipulates that only the infrastructure operator is responsible for the proper functioning and maintenance of fiber optic connection equipment. The new framework is also accompanied by a more drastic penalty regime that can go as far as the exclusion of a subcontractor in the event of a contractual breach.

This is enough to satisfy Arcep, for whom "the current situation is difficult to understand". And to call for the commitments made by Infranum to be signed by all the stakeholders in the sector. And to remind that "these networks will be the reference fixed infrastructure for the next decades".

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Source : ZDnet

On March 9th, the European Commission unveiled its vision "for a successful digital transformation of Europe by 2030". A series of objectives to be met in less than ten years, such as the availability of all key public services on the web or the increase in skills of individuals.

5G is one of these objectives. Mobile broadband is gradually arriving on the Old Continent and Brussels wants this new technology to be available in all populated areas by 2030.

According to the European Commission, 14% of populated areas will be covered by 5G by 2021. A figure that may seem high given the very recent nature of this standard. But the wording chosen by the European executive excludes uninhabited areas, which in fact evacuates large parts of the continent from the calculation. Nine years would therefore be enough to fill the remaining 86%.

But countries are free to go faster if they wish. In France, the entire network could be in 5G by 2030. This is in any case the perspective that the former president of Arcep, Sebastien Soriano, has drawn in 2019. A first step will have to be taken in 2025, with two thirds of the population covered.

The timetable for 5G contains several appointments, depending on the imperatives of territorial planning (coverage of major transport routes and more rural areas) and the circumstances of current events (like the Summer Olympics Games in 2024). In addition, the regulator will provide additional licenses to operators to operate additional frequencies.

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Source : Numerama

Jessica Rosenworcel, the acting chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission has been challenged by four senators to redefine the broadband standard. They want to impose a speed of 100 Mbps symmetrical.

Since 2015, the prevailing definition of Broadband in the United States has been 25 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps upstream. Senators believe that speeds above 3 Mbps in upload are needed throughout the country.

This approach of differentiating between download and upload has already been judged by Jessica Rosenworcel as outdated and she wanted to raise the levels. The challenge is to use these new criteria to better assess the number and location of underserved Americans. This would also perhaps boost fiber, where cable access is the majority in the United States.

As there is no international definition of broadband, it depends on each country. In France, Arcep only takes into account the downstream speed, which must be between 512 Kbits/s and 30 Mbits/s, while the Very High Speed is above 30 Mbits/s. These criteria are much less demanding than the US senators' proposal.

However, the problem is completely different in France, since very efficient FttH (fiber to the home) infrastructures are being deployed at full speed. As a result, very high-speed access should become the majority in our country. The government has also set itself the goal of bringing fiber access to all homes by 2025.

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Source : 01net

The latest quarterly figures published by Arcep confirm the growth of optical fibre in France: "the fourth quarter of 2020 was marked by record growth in fibre optic deployment (FttH) and its adoption, which concludes another record year in 2020". The 10 million subscriptions to FttH offers have now passed the 10 million mark.

The number of very high-speed broadband subscriptions now stands at 14.7 million. This represents nearly half of the total number of Internet subscriptions in France, and 51% of the number of premises eligible for very high-speed broadband, an increase of 3 points in one year.

This growth is primarily due to the increase in FttH subscriptions. With 3.3 million additional accesses in 2020, the number of FttH subscriptions is estimated at 10.4 million, or 70% of the total number of very high-speed accesses. Although broadband subscriptions still make up the majority of Internet subscriptions, with almost 16 million, they have dropped by 2.5 million in 2020.

In total, at the end of 2020, France had 30.6 million broadband and very high-speed subscriptions. This represents an increase of 285,000 in one quarter and 800,000 in one year (+2.7%). "Such annual growth has not been observed for three years," according to estimates from Arcep.

A trend that owes much to the sustained deployment of end-to-end fiber optic lines by operators and players in the sector. More than 1.9 million additional premises were made connectable to FttH during the fourth quarter of 2020. "More than 5.8 million lines were deployed in 2020, despite the health situation, 19% more than in 2019," said the telecoms policeman.

Now, 24.2 million premises are eligible for FttH offers, an increase of 31% in one year. Most of this growth is located in medium-density areas - the AMII zone (Appel à Manifestation d'Intention d'Investissement). At the end of the fourth quarter of 2020, a total of 28.6 million premises were eligible for very high-speed broadband services, all technologies combined, including 21.7 million outside very dense areas.

While fiber deployment is progressing well, many homes and businesses are complaining about connectivity at half-mast. This is due to faulty maintenance or connections at sharing points, which generate numerous quality-of-service problems.
To remedy this, the operators have just concluded an agreement that could be a milestone in the sector. They are committed to improving the safety and quality of interventions with a new system of penalties.

The agreement, announced by Infranum, also provides for the collective assumption of the costs of restoring the network. This will slow down the explosion of "noodle dishes" overflowing the pooling points, which could eventually pose a major problem for the connectivity of individuals and professionals.

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Source : ZDNet

InfraNum has just announced "a major agreement between operators to improve the quality of connections and guarantee the durability of fiber networks in France". The quality of the operations of connection to the optical fiber is currently under fire, the federation of digital infrastructure manufacturers is trying to reassure. A framework has therefore been put in place and will be set out in numerous agreements between access providers and network operators... some of which have yet to be signed.

For 18 months, infrastructure operators (RO) and commercial operators (CO) have been working together to draw up these new Stoc contracts (for commercial operator subcontracting). The aim is to improve an operating mode that everyone is keen to maintain: the Internet access provider (OC) connects its subscriber, as a subcontractor of the network operator (RO).

Indeed, in the face of the influx of demand, its defenders argue that this is the most efficient way to operate in order to make things happen quickly. But not to do well, retort the detractors of the Stoc mode denouncing degradation, connection failures or access cuts.

The Stoc mode is therefore striving to make its transformation, "to improve the quality and safety of interventions, the processes and speed of connection, and the training of those involved". InfraNum therefore announces that discussions between network operators and ISPs have led to progress in three areas:

• "Improving the safety and quality of interventions", with in particular the "realization of joint audits and the introduction of sanctions that can go as far as the exclusion of a subcontractor in case of contractual failure".
• "Increase transparency" through a system for monitoring interventions and "control by an artificial intelligence system" on the side of the network operator".
• "Rebalancing maintenance costs: between ROs and COs, collective coverage of network restoration costs, according to a distribution key approved by the Arcep".

While the industry federation assures that "the first signatures have already taken place for rapid generalization and immediate implementation," it concedes, however, that this "new contractual framework" has not yet been fully deployed.

For example, network operators Axione and Altitude Infra have signed "with the majority of OCs", while things are "on the right track" for TDF. On the other hand, there is nothing on the progress of discussions with Orange and SFR, which have the particularity of being both commercial operators and network operators, particularly in public and private initiative zones.

A little more patience therefore before this new major agreement is implemented in unison on all networks and between all operators and ISPs. The interest for stakeholders is that it "avoids imposing a regulatory decision". The Arcep is currently conducting a consultation on the subject.

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Source : DegroupTest

Announced in June 2015, following an agreement between the European Parliaments and the Council, the end of roaming charges became a reality two years later. If everyone has since taken a liking for this measure, which avoids unpleasant surprises on their phone bill when travelling abroad, it should end in 2022.

The European Commission has therefore just proposed to extend the abolition of roaming charges between member countries for another ten years. The objective is to go even further: "Consumers will be able to benefit from the same quality and speed of connection to their mobile network abroad as at home, when equivalent networks are available," specifies the institution in a press release.

Indeed, 33% of Europeans consider that their mobile connection speed is of lower quality when they are abroad. The operators of the country visited would therefore be required to provide equivalent performance when consumers are roaming.

A subject that has been close to the EU's heart for many years. In fact, European consumers have already seen an 80% drop in the price of calls, SMS and data transfers between EU countries since 2007.

Negotiations are still ongoing with telephone operators. They are trying to measure the impact of the new measures desired by the Commission.

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Source : Presse Citron

The government has just announced a "digital and environmental roadmap" to reduce the carbon footprint of digital technology in France. With several measures, this document is the result of collaboration between the offices of Cédric O, Secretary of State for Digital Technology, and Barbara Pompili, Minister for the Ecological Transition. An aid fund with a budget of 300 million euros is also planned.

Among these measures, telecoms operators will have to encourage customers to bring back their unused mobiles. The goal is to inject them into the reconditioning circuit or direct them to the recycling circuit.

If turning to easily repairable devices (thanks to the repairability index in place since January 1, 2021) or reconditioned devices (from players such as Back Mark, ReCommerce or PRS Solution) is better but not ideal either. Cédric O indicates: "We have entrusted Arcep with a mission to look into the model of smartphones subsidized by telecom operators. This may be a gas pedal for the renewal of telephones and therefore problematic for the environment. We want to delve deeper into this subject and objectify the impact of these commercial practices before taking any decisions on the subject".

The French Secretary of State for Digital Technology is notably thinking about pushing "the leasing of smartphones from operators, as is done in other countries".

For his part, the telecoms gendarme has been asked to create an "environmental barometer of digital players". This will be based on data collected from players such as data center managers, smartphone manufacturers and telecom operators.

The Arcep will also have to take into account the environmental aspect when allocating 5G frequencies. As a result, the allocation criteria could include the energy consumption of the relay antennas, as well as the coverage of the territory.

Not forgetting the giants of the Net, especially popular video platforms such as Neflix. Barbara Pompili explains: "What is the point of broadcasting very high quality video on smartphone screens just a few centimeters wide? We need to avoid aberrant practices such as automatic video playback, for example, which lead to unnecessary energy consumption".

The government will also have to set an example by turning to refurbishment and supporting the industry. "The government must set an example. We would like to see 20% of public orders for telephones or computer equipment to be for reconditioned devices," says Barbara Pompili.

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Source : Univers Freebox