TELECOM | France reveals roadmap for 5G
The French government unveiled its roadmap for the installation of 5G throughout French territory, including plans adopted by the Electronic Communications Regulation Authority.
PARIS, FRANCE — The French government unveiled its roadmap for the installation of 5G throughout French territory, including plans adopted by the Electronic Communications Regulation Authority (Arcep), and announced the launch of four strategic approaches, during a presentation here on Monday.
Mounir Mahjoubi, Secretary of State for the Prime Minister, who’s in charge of digital issues, Delphine Geny-Stephann, Secretary of State for the Minister of Economy and Finance, and Sebastien Soriano, President of Arcep, detailed the implementation of the 5G network which should take effect from 2020.
“From the horizon of 2020, 5G promises a leap in technological performance opening the door to a variety of new uses as much for the public (democratization of 3D streaming video, etc.) as for businesses (development of disruptive applications in all industrial sectors),” they said.
The deployment of 5G is a priority “coherent” with the actions launched on a European scale “in order to respond to growing connectivity needs and to increase competition in the countries of the European Union,” they specified.
The roadmap is oriented around three principle objectives: the launch of several 5G pilot programs in various regions and the hosting of the first applications worldwide of 5G in industrial domains; the attribution of new 5G frequencies and commercial rollout in at least one major city by 2020; and 5G coverage for main transport arteries by 2025.
For that, four working areas have been launched: to free-up and attribute radio frequencies for the 5G network, to support the development of new industrial uses, to accompany the deployment of 5G infrastructures and finally to ensure transparency and dialogue on 5G development to be disseminated to the public.
Working groups have been set-up by the French state and the first tests are underway or planned in several French cities, including Bordeaux (Atlantic Coastal France), Grenoble (Eastern), Marseille (Southern), and at least eight other municipalities.
The French government and Arcep also announced Monday the launch of 11 new tests in the Paris region, notably including three cases of uses for connected vehicles.