Paris, 12 January 2004
For the past several months, Autorité de régulation des télécommunications (ART) has been preparing the conditions for the renewal of GSM authorisations. After their 15-year term, Orange France and SFR's GSM authorisations will expire in March 2006. That of Bouygues Telecom will expire in December 2009. Under the Post and Telecommunications Code, ART must submit its proposed conditions to the Minister of Telecommunications, who then notifies the authorisation holders of the conditions for renewing their authorisations. This must be done at least two years prior to their expiry dates, that is, in March 2004 for Orange France and SFR.
It is within this framework that ART released today a summary of the contributions it received this past autumn to the public consultation it had launched in July 2003 in preparation for this deadline.
ART received 11 contributions primarily from operators, industry, distribution and sales companies and associations.
All contributors approved of the principle of authorisation renewal allocating the same frequencies as are currently attributed.
The consultation also highlighted the existence of major-but diverse-expectations depending on the type of player, regarding the key issues on renewal, particularly in terms of coverage, service quality, and the development of mobile multimedia services.
As required by current regulations, ART will submit its proposed conditions for the renewal of GSM authorisations to the Minister of Telecommunications before the month of March.
