Arcep has awarded three trials licences for the 3.8 – 4.0 GHz band
Following the conclusions and recommendations of the industrial 5G Task Force, which the Government entrusted to Philippe Herbert[1], on 15 March Arcep opened a trial platform in the 3.8 – 4.0 GHz band to facilitate manufacturers’ and “vertical” players’ (local authorities, universities, research labs, etc.) access to 5G[2].
Arcep has awarded 13 trials licences thus far, covering an array of economic sectors, including manufacturing, energy and health sector companies.
Complete details of these trials can be found in the 5G trial platform dashboard on the Arcep website. This page will be updated regularly until the 3.8 – 4.0 GHz band trial platform is closed.
The trial platform in the 3.8 – 4.0 GHz band remains open to testing
Arcep encourages all economic and industrial stakeholders wanting access to frequencies to submit a request via the trial platform. The practical guidelines for accessing these frequencies can be found by following this link.
The process for accessing 2.6 GHz TDD frequencies have been simplified thanks to the creation of an online portal
Arcep is also sending out a reminder that professional mobile network (PMR) players can request long-term access to 2.6 GHz TDD frequencies via a web portal that streamlines the process for accessing those resources. This band also remains available for trial licences to test use cases before requesting long-term authorisation.
[1]Industrial 5G task force report
[2]Arcep press release “The Government and Arcep introduce two new measures designed to facilitate manufacturers and other verticals’ access to 5G (15 March 2022)
ANNEX – Three trials being conducted in the 3.8 – 4.0 GHz band
University Hospital Institute of Strasbourg
The trial, being conducted as part of the Franco-German “5G-OR” project, seeks to create the demonstrator of a new generation of smart operating room employing private 5G networks, for personalised and secure minimally invasive operations, with the goal of increasing the benefits to patients. The French team includes two institutes created by the Investing in the Future Programme/ Programme des Investissements d’Avenir – the University Hospital Institute of Strasbourg and b<>com Institute of Research and Technology – and the innovative startup, RDS Diagnostics.
SNCF Réseau
The “5G Living Labs" Project is made up of three spaces for developing sovereign and trusted digital environments, for industry and for travellers. They are located in the city of Rennes, in the train station, in the adjacent maintenance “Technicentre” in the city centre, and in the industrial Technicentre located at the airport. By connecting these three spaces thanks to new-generation connectivity solutions, the Living Labs platform creates the ability to test use cases relating to travellers and SNCF areas of expertise, in the station and in industrial settings. “5G Living Labs” aims to serve as an innovation platform open to outside enterprises, for them to conduct their own trials.
Capgemini
Capgemini is enhancing its 5G Lab in Issy-les-Moulineaux with new trial capabilities for future manufacturing use cases, supplementing its 5G private network with new spectrum in the 3.8 – 4.0 GHz band.