In March 2020, Arcep approved the tender packages submitted by Bouygues Telecom, Free Mobile, Orange France and SFR for the procedure to award licences to use 3.4 – 3.8 GHz band spectrum, which began in December 2019.
The main auction, which ran from 29 September to 1 October 2020, made it possible to determine the amount of spectrum that each of the winning bidders would be awarded. The “positioning” auction, which took place on 20 October 2020, then determined the position that each winning bidder would occupy in the band.
On 12 November 2020, Arcep awarded each of these companies a licence to use 3.4 – 3.8 GHz band frequencies, which implements the final results of the award procedure:
The granting of these licences marks the completion of this awards procedure. Arcep has authorised operators to begin using these frequencies on 18 November 2020.
The winning bidders will pay the Government a total fixed fee of 2,789,096,245 euros. This must be paid in several instalments from 2020 to 2034. They will also pay a variable annual fee, equal to one percent of the revenue earned from the use of these frequencies.
Associated Documents
- Press kit on the frequency award procedure and operators’ obligations
- Webpage dedicated to the frequency award procedure
- FAQ on 5G
- Bouygues Telecom’s licence to use 3.4 – 3.8 GHz band frequencies
- Free Mobile’s licence to use 3.4 – 3.8 GHz band frequencies
- Orange’s licence to use 3.4 – 3.8 GHz band frequencies
- SFR’s licence to use 3.4 – 3.8 GHz band frequencies
- Mobile operators’ frequency allocations in Metropolitan France
- Arcep creates an observatory dedicated to 5G rollouts
- Arcep’s work programme attached to its “Achieving digital sustainability” collaboration platform