Launched at the end of 2020 in France, 5G operates in several frequency bands, including the 3.4-3.8 GHz band. Arcep is concerned about possible interference with fixed satellite earth stations, as these use the 3.8-4.2 GHz band.

Such proximity could cause interference. This is why the telecom regulator decided to launch a public consultation on 27 July: "The purpose of this public consultation is to clarify the conditions of coexistence, both from the point of view of the technical conditions to be respected and their location and duration. The proposed text seeks to distinguish between existing stations and those that could be deployed in the future, and to take into account the levels of constraints on the deployment of 5G networks, which may vary according to the stations and their location". Contributions from the stakeholders are expected before 29 October 2021.

Arcep also recalls that measures have already been taken in this regard: "In order to avoid such interference, Arcep's decisions of 12 November 2020 authorising mobile operators to use the 3.4-3.8 GHz band specify the obligation for mobile operators to take the necessary measures to comply with emission power levels".

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Source : Univers Freebox

On 20 July, the operators submitted their plan of attack to improve the quality of connections to the government. For the French Federation of Telecoms (FFT), there is no question of letting these malfunctions damage the image of fibre and hinder its deployment in the short and medium term.

This opinion is shared by all telecom stakeholders. "Good quality [of connections] is essential to ensure the operation of FttH networks under good conditions, to ensure their sustainability and to limit the additional costs associated with recovery or reinstatement work," Arcep points out. The same is true of operators, who regret that damage to network infrastructure, whether deliberate or not, does not harm their image or that of fibre.

Last May, the infrastructure operators had already made a series of commitments to improve the quality of connections by changing the subcontracting contract (STOC mode) that governs the market. Now it is the turn of commercial operators to tackle the problem head on. In this white paper, they propose various ways to put an end to "noodle dishes".

In addition to training their field staff, the operators also advocate the widespread use of a new form of engineering within shared cabinets. This new architecture, known as the "M" shape, "makes cross-connection more fluid and intuitive, thanks to a colour code for the paths". The latter are thus campaigning for the generalisation of this system on a national scale.

In addition, and in order to allow for a better audit of connections already made, the operators wish to generalise a new type of photographic report, "which provides for time-stamped photos to be taken before and after each intervention, making it possible to control the quality of the work carried out by the participants and to rapidly detect the appearance of defects". Launched at the beginning of the year, the tool nevertheless suffers from a few limitations: "the controller's inability, whether human or mechanised based on artificial intelligence, to ensure that the optical positions occupied are in accordance with what is planned". This is a major shortcoming, as it is common for this malfunction to lead to bottlenecks in the cabinets.

The operators also want to rely on an interoperator application, called "e-Mutation", which aims to help technicians improve their visibility of the lightpaths used in a given cabinet. They also announced the forthcoming launch of an interoperators IT tool to track a fault from notification to resolution.

The last point concerns the National Address Database (BAN), a public database that aims to reference the address of all premises in France. The database, which can be used in the form of an API by operators, has been criticised for its shortcomings, particularly in rural areas. "It is essential that local authorities quickly acquire a complete address database," explain the operators, who rely on this information in their connection operations.

Will this put an end to the proliferation of noodle dishes? At least that is what the operators are hoping for. Especially since the timing is critical for the adoption of fibre, while the rollout of very high speed broadband continues in all directions in metropolitan France. Fibre professionals expect to deploy 6.2 million sockets in 2021. This should exceed the government's objectives in this area, with forecasts of 87% of homes connected to fibre in 2022, instead of the 80% initially desired by the public authorities.

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Source : ZDnet

In order to accelerate the development of 5G, and in particular in the industrial world, the State is targeting €1.7 billion in public and private investment until 2025. The executive "will mobilise €480 million in public funding to support priority projects between now and 2022, and is aiming for up to €735 million in public funding between now and 2025 in order to mobilise, through a leverage effect, up to €1.7 billion in investments between now and 2025", said Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister for Industry, at a press conference on 6 July.

The problem for the government today is not to deploy 5G infrastructure but to accelerate the development of 5G use cases. In September 2020, the State has already selected 18 projects that will receive 83 million euros of public money, for a total investment of 260 million euros.

Three other projects have been announced and will receive €10 million of public money: a machine-to-machine communication (mMTC) project led by the engineering and consulting company Médiane Système, a network acceleration card from the Grenoble SME Kalray, and a building ventilation and heating control solution from another Grenoble SME, Adeunis.

The public funds will come from France Relance, the plan to support the economy after the Covid-19 crisis, and the 4th programme for future investments. The government estimates that this effort to stimulate 5G applications could create 20,000 new jobs by 2025, and bring the 5G market in France to 15 billion euros by that date.

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Source : FrenchWeb.fr

In July 2020, Free approached the Arcep, asking it to specify the conditions of access for market players to SFR's FttH network in less dense private initiative zones (AMII). Iliad's subsidiary demanded that SFR's tariffs for access to the terminal part of its network be regulated, limiting any increase to the indexation provided for in the mutualization contract between the two operators and making any change beyond this scale subject to the signature of a rider "negotiated in good faith".

This is a hot topic, because already last April, the Arcep said it was ready to put the "points on the i's" in the issue of the increase in connection rates to SFR's fiber network in private areas. In fact, the Authority had already demanded from the mark with the red square the cancellation of the increase in its tariffs in force since the beginning of the year 2020 after having been seized by Bouygues Telecom last winter.

Free, which therefore demanded the revision of the co-financing rates demanded by SFR, in the AMII zone, so that they do not exceed €5.12 per line and per month (or €513.6 per line for the non-recurring rate) for a co-financing up to 20%.

This request was accepted by Arcep, which asked SFR to adjust its tariffs in the AMII zones but also in the AMEL zones. The Gendarme des Télécoms justifies this position by stating that SFR's infrastructure branch "has not produced any specific elements that would allow it to understand its costs" and believes that increases in access tariffs must "be justified by cost elements".

As in the dispute between Bouygues Telecom and SFR, the Arcep has enjoined the brand with the red square to return to its co-financing rates applied before February 2020. However, it has the possibility of adjusting them in a much more modest manner by means of an amendment. This decision was eagerly awaited by certain players in the sector, for whom the survival of the principle of sharing the terminal part of the Orange and SFR fiber networks, in force since 2008, was at stake.

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Source : ZDNet

Free was lagging behind when it came to activating IPv6 support on the mobile, but that has now changed. Indeed, a new option has appeared in the Free Mobile subscriber area allowing to activate it.

The transition to IPv6 has been a long-standing issue for operators since the shortage of IPv4 addresses has been felt for several years. The use of the new IP address standard solves the problem; the new protocol has an almost unlimited stock of IP addresses attributable to devices.

At the beginning of December, the Arcep updated its barometer of the IPv6 transition in France. Bouygues is doing well in this respect, with 87% of Android customers and 98% of iOS customers IPv6-enabled. Second came Orange with 35% on Android and 60% on iOS, while on SFR, only 0.2% of Android customers had activated IPv6. Free was last, as IPv6 activation was simply not available for the ISP's mobile clients until then.

While Free has been a poor performer on cell phones, the operator is catching up on fixed Internet networks with 99% of its customers having an IPv6-enabled connection. Next comes Orange with 75%, followed by Bouygues at 28% and SFR at 1.6%.

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Source : ZDNet

Despite the shortage of IPv4 addresses, the Arcep draws a mixed picture of the transition to the IPv6 network protocol. In its annual barometer, the gendarme des Télécom notes the progress made by operators in the fixed-line sector, in particular Free, and to a lesser extent Orange. While both have high rates of IPv6-activated customers, SFR appears to be lagging behind, while Bouygues Telecom must accelerate its efforts.

In the mobile sector, Bouygues Telecom has made the most effort, followed by Orange. As for SFR, they are working twice as hard to catch up, while Free Mobile has still not begun the transition.

However, it is the rate of mail hosting that alarms the Arcep the most. Indeed, only Google stands out with more than 95% of domain names in IPv6 for mail servers.

Today, France would rank tenth in the world Top 30 in terms of IPv6 usage rate. It would rank fifth, behind Belgium, Germany, Greece and Switzerland at the European level.

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Source : 01Net

After ten months of proceedings, the Arcep ruled in favor of Bouygues Telecom regarding the wholesale prices charged by SFR FTTH to other national or regional operators. The latter are grafting themselves onto SFR's optical fiber network in the countryside in order to be able to offer this technology in areas where their own networks are less developed.

The Arcep was seized last January by Martin Bouygues' operator, after a price increase on the SFR side. Indeed, to access a "package" of SFR lines, operators had to pay 5.80 euros per line and per month, compared to 5.48 euros for Orange. Line rental prices had increased to 16.40 euros per month and per line.

SFR FTTH was able to increase its prices because, when it comes to optical fiber, only Orange's rates are regulated. For its part, Bouygues Telecom demanded two things: a return to the rates in effect before the February 1, 2020 increase and a reduction in line rental prices, with a range of 12.20 euros to 13.20 euros.

The regulator ruled in its favor on these two issues. SFR will therefore have to offer Bouygues Telecom an amendment to the contract to restore the old rates within one month. As regards line rental, SFR is required to propose a new tariff to Bouygues not to exceed 13.20 euros per month and per line.

This is a real setback for SFR, which by the end of 2018 had sold half of its fiber optic network in the three-fund campaigns. The latter had paid a very high price for this asset, no doubt enticed by the promise of high and long-term rental revenues.

But two years later, the operator had to lower its prices. In addition to this, Free has also filed a complaint with the Arcep on the same subject.

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Source : Les Échos

Arcep takes stock of the 4G mobile coverage of the metropolis. The Telecom gendarme estimates that the territory is today 96% covered by at least one operator and 76% covered by all operators.

Within the framework of the New Mobile Deal, "2,066 zones have been identified by the local authorities. ...] To date, 462 new sites are providing voice and SMS services with "good coverage" thanks to 3G and very high-speed mobile broadband (4G) in areas that have been identified and prioritized by the local authorities," the regulatory authority points out.

Operators' commitments/obligations are also verified by Arcep. Identified by an order dated July 4, 2018, 445 sites were to be implemented by October 9, 2020. Assessment: "403 of the 445 sites have been commissioned, i.e. nearly 91%. ...] The causes of the delays in bringing the other sites into service are currently being analyzed" by the regulator's services.

"Arcep welcomes the good progress of the Mobile New Deal, thanks to the mobilization of operators, local players and public authorities. The Authority will ensure that the operators fully respect all the commitments they have made," concludes Sébastien Soriano.

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Source : NextInpact

The Arcep, by putting an end to the call for tenders for 5G frequencies, has just delivered the positioning of operators on the 3.5 GHz band.

Only Free will have spent 3 million euros to secure a central position in the 5G "queen band". Iliad's French subsidiary will have access to 70 MHz of frequencies on a block ranging from 3.64 GHz to 3.71 GHz.

In detail, SFR will have 80 MHz of frequencies on a block ranging from 3.49 GHz to 3.57 GHz, while the 70 MHz of frequencies held by Bouygues Telecom will be located between 3.57 GHz and 3.64 GHz. Finally, Orange, which holds the largest block of frequencies, with 90 MHz of 5G frequencies, will have a block ranging from 3.71 GHz to 3.80 GHz.

During this second phase of the auction, the operators have disbursed a total of 2.78 billion euros. Bouygues Telecom paid 602 million euros to acquire 70 MHz of frequencies in the 3.5 GHz band, as did Free, which added 3 million euros to this sum to benefit from the positioning of its choice. For its part, SFR invested 728 million euros to get its hands on 80 MHz of frequencies, while Orange spent 854 million euros to get its hands on 90 MHz of frequencies in the 3.5 GHz band.

350 million spent by each operator to purchase fixed 50 MHz blocks will be reimbursed "in 15 equal parts over 15 years, the first part upon the award of the frequency license and the other 14 parts on the anniversary date of the award".

The amounts paid by the operators during the auction and positioning phase will be repayable "in four equal parts payable over four years, the first as soon as the authorization to use the frequencies is granted and the other three on the anniversary date of the grant".

"In addition to these sums, a variable annual portion equal to 1% of the revenues generated by the operation of these frequencies will be added to these amounts," said the telecom police officer.

The frequencies will be officially delivered by the Arcep as of November 18th. But operators will still have to wait for the ANFR's approval before they can market their first 5G offers to the general public and professionals, which should take about 10 additional days.

Concerning the marketing of 5G packages, the operators have not yet made their strategies known. In any case, they will have to wait for the approval of the municipalities to officially launch the 5G era among users. If patience is therefore required, operators are already beginning the major maneuvers to lower the cost of their 5G infrastructure.

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Source : ZDNet

Following complaints about service degradation, two years ago the Arcep gave the incumbent operator formal notice to meet its commitments in 2019. While clear progress was made in 2019, the situation is less satisfactory in the first half of 2020, which is marked in particular by the health crisis. The telecoms gendarme is waiting with bated breath for the improvement promised by the incumbent operator in the second half of the year.

"The health protection measures remain in force and bring constraints during interventions that reduce the productivity of Orange's resources," Orange pleaded in a press release last July.

As a reminder, at the end of 2017, the incumbent operator was charged with providing a fixed-line telephone offer to all French citizens at an affordable price for a period of three years. It is subject to a dozen service quality indicators listed in the specifications, which include annual numerical thresholds controlled by Arcep.

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Source : 01net

Another thorn in the side of the digital infrastructure sector is customers' end connections to fibre optic cable. Indeed, there is growing discontent with the disruptions observed in the sharing points and the threat they pose to the sustainability of networks. Called upon to intervene more frankly, the Arcep is finally taking matters into its own hands to do something about the "noodle dishes".

At the Telconomics conference on 16th June, the Regulatory Authority said it was "extremely concerned" by the multiplication of these aberrations. To remedy this, the telecoms regulator has therefore published a "first roadmap" drawn up in consultation with the players in the sector. The objective is to give infrastructure operators the possibility to better control interventions on their networks. They will thus be able to report, or even deregister, unscrupulous subcontractors mandated by commercial operators.

Sébastien Soriano, President of the Authority, explains that the aim is to "prevent a few black sheep from destroying the highly professional work of most of the other subcontractors". A first step that will not settle all the questions, such as those of recruitment, the pricing of these interventions, or the differences in connection technologies between infrastructure operators and access providers.

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Source : DegroupNews

The telecoms regulator has published a new timetable for the continuation of the 5G frequency allocation procedure in the 3.5 GHz band. It will therefore be between September 20th and 30th.  Bouygues Telecom, Free, Orange and SFR, which qualified last February following a call for applications, will participate.

At the end of the procedure, they will each obtain a 50 GHz block in return for 350 million euros per head and a number of deployment obligations. In early autumn, the main auction will allow them to complete this first block by winning one or more 10 GHz blocks. This will be followed by an auction to position the resulting frequencies in the 3.4-3.8 GHz section. The Arcep indicates that the final allocation of frequencies will take place "in October or November". Operators will thus be able to market their future 5G packages "by the end of the year".

However, in the end, operators will not be obliged to provide 5G coverage in at least two major cities before the end of 2020. The delay in the procedure has led the telecoms police to lift this obligation accompanying the first 50GHz block. The marketing will be done "at the initiative of the operators" even if the Arcep promises to remain attentive to the conditions of marketing of the new network and the promises of the operators.

The first obligation will therefore be to deploy 5G on at least 3,000 of their sites by the end of 2022. Operators will also have to distilled at least 240 Mb/s on 75 % of their sites into 4G+ by the same deadline.

This is a reminder that the specifications have been drawn up so that the deployment of 5G and 4G coverage of territories go hand in hand. It is also a response to Bouygues Telecom and SFR, who recently balanced the deployment of the 5th generation network against the need to improve 4G coverage in rural areas.

At the same time, Arcep also intends to respond to growing concerns about the environmental impact of digital technology. Within the framework of a new platform called "for a sustainable digital environment", "associations, institutions, operators, digital companies, personalities" are invited to contribute to it during a series of thematic workshops starting on July 9th.

A report by the end of the year will provide an opportunity to take stock of this work and will propose the "first avenues for taking the response to environmental issues further", which the Authority intends to make a "new chapter in regulation".

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Source : DegroupNews