Yesterday in Paris, Arcep brought together more than 20 representatives of national authorities from 15 European Union Member States, to outline the planned terms and procedure for awarding spectrum in the
3490 – 3800 GHz band in Metropolitan France, and to elicit their feedback. The procedure’s draft document was published for public consultation, which will run from 15 July to 4 September.
Arcep is thus spearheading the implementation of a procedure that is set out in the European Code adopted in late 2018.
In addition to meeting with operators and local authorities’ associations, when drafting its frequency award procedure Arcep’s teams interacted regularly with their European counterparts, in particular those from Germany, Italy and the UK, notably to discuss the lessons learned from past awards procedures, and to compare the mechanisms used.
Carrying through with this collaborative momentum, and in the run-up to the frequency allocations, this meeting enabled especially fruitful discussions between the participants, at a key point in the process. Topics included awards procedures, the quantity of spectrum awarded, the type of obligations imposed on operators and the coexistence of networks in the band.
Representatives of 15 European Union Member States were in attendance: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia. Spain, Sweden, and the UK. The European Commission was also represented.
Next stages in the process
Having completed these various consultations, Arcep plans on finalising the terms and procedure for the award process, which will then be submitted to the Government before launching the spectrum award procedure in the autumn.