France-based telecom operators such as Bouygues, SFR and Orange have committed to enhance the quality of their services by making more investment in networks.
Bouygues, SFR and Orange did not reveal the size of fresh investment in France to boost the network coverage.
Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority (Arcep) of France said that it will work on the reallocation of the 900/1800/2100 MHz spectrum bands to French telecom operators, whose spectrum licences are set to expire in the coming years.
French telecom regulator promised that the license fee for spectrum will not be increased to support the telecom industry in France. This development will be a big relief for all telcos including Bouygues, SFR and Orange.
Promises from telecom operators
# Improvement in quality of services across the entire country, and particularly in rural areas
# Speed up targeted programs for improving coverage
# Operators to deploy at least 5,000 new cell sites across the country
# Operators to bring coverage to as many areas as the total number covered by government programs over the past 15 years
# Achieve ubiquitous 4G coverage, bringing it to more than a million additional people in 10,000 municipalities in France, by making every cell site 4G-capable
# Accelerate the 4G coverage on transportation routes including roads and railways
# Achieve ubiquitous indoor telephone coverage, notably by using voice over Wi-Fi
At the first National Conference of Territories, held on 17 July of last year, the President of France set forth targets: to guarantee fast internet access (above 8 Mbit/s) for every citizen, to deploy superfast access networks (delivering in excess of 30 Mbit/s) in every region across the country by 2022, and to achieve ubiquitous high standard mobile coverage by 2020.
The Government will be supporting mobile operators’ investment efforts with a commitment to ensuring that the licensing fees they pay for frequencies remain stable, and to simplifying the measures contained in the new housing bill.
