ARCEP launches a public consultation on sharing 3G facilities

Paris, 9 December 2008

Article 119 of the Economic Modernisation Law (LME) states: "in the respect of the objectives listed in point II of Article L. 32-1 of the Post and Electronic Communications Code, and in order to facilitate the progress of regional coverage of third-generation mobile wireless communications, following public consultation(…), ARCEP determines the conditions and the degree to which third-generation network facilities are shared in Metropolitan France (…)"

Today, ARCEP is launching its public consultation preliminary to the decision it must take in application of this legislative measure.

The sharing of passive or active facilities is already possible in France for those operators wishing to do so; therefore, the objective of the public consultation is to collect the contributions of players on the obligations ARCEP should define for the conditions and the degree to which 3G facilities should be shared.

Contributions should be sent to ARCEP by 23 January 2009.