Users’ connectivity demands, growing and changing digital uses, technological shifts and evolving frequency requirement, new players, societal expectations and environmental imperatives… these are the issues and challenges facing the mobile network sector today. As the sector’s regulator, Arcep is committed to keeping pace with these changes, and to making them part of its ongoing pursuit of regulatory objectives. To this end, it is launching a public consultation that will run until 23 September 2022.
Operators, equipment suppliers, but also associations, local authorities, businesses, academics and concerned citizens… are all invited to contribute to all or part of the public consultation
The public consultation includes four entries:
- Future uses, new connectivity and use case expectations: can 5G satisfy these expectations, what frequencies and technologies are best suited meet coverage expectations, what changes in network architecture are likely?
- Businesses and industrial players’ specific connectivity needs: what technologies, network architectures and business models are best suited to match expectations?
- Societal and environmental imperatives: what are they and how to incorporate them into the obligations imposed on operators in the terms of their frequency licences?
- Questions specific to the different frequency bands, and their future use.
The contributions received will help inform Arcep’s short, medium and long-term work on spectrum management, and on defining the award procedure for frequencies that are or will become available.
Arcep will host a series of webinars to present the issues covered by this broad consultation to the different categories of stakeholder
Several webinars will be held on this public consultation, to give Arcep an opportunity to present the consultation document and answer stakeholders’ questions. Four webinars thus will be hosted in June, each one for a specific target audience:
- 14 June at 10 am for local and territorial authorities;
- 14 June at 4:00 pm, for associations concerned about the digital carbon footprint;
- 16 June at 4:30 pm, for industry players and startups;
- 17 June at 10 am, for consumer and trade associations.
Details on how to sign up for the webinars and respond to the public consultation can be found on the Arcep website.
Broadening the scope of the public consultation beyond players who are familiar with Arcep
This public consultation is aimed at a very broad audience, beyond those stakeholders who are already familiar with Arcep’s actions. To this end, the Arcep Chair is sending e-mails out to all of the sectors’ strategic committees to invite them to contribute. To help spread the word to all of the target audiences, Arcep is making short explanatory messages, designed for each of the different stakeholder groups, available in the Annex to this press release.
A question about the consultation? Do not hesitate to contact us!
Associated document:
• Document published for public consultation (English version)
ANNEX: PRESENTATION OF THE PUBLIC CONSULTATION BY STAKEHOLDER CATEGORY
LOCAL AND TERRITORIAL AUTHORITIES
The future of mobile networks and regional development: local and territorial authorities, Arcep wants to hear from you!
Users’ connectivity demands, growing and changing digital uses, technological shifts and evolving frequency requirement, new players, societal expectations and environmental imperatives… these are the issues and challenges facing the mobile network sector today. As the sector’s regulator, Arcep (the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications, Postal Affairs and Print Media Distribution) is committed to keeping pace with these changes, and to making them a part of its ongoing pursuit of regulatory objectives. To this end, it is launching a public consultation that will run until 23 September 2022. Invited to respond to all or part of this consultation, local and territorial authorities may be particularly interested in Part 3, to share with Arcep their expectations in the areas of coverage and quality of service, and to help in drafting the obligations in this area that will be imposed on operators.
To present the issues covered by this broad consultation, and to answer stakeholders’ questions, a webinar aimed specifically at local and territorial authorities will be held at 10 am on 14 June 2022
• Registration on the Arcep website
CONSUMER ASSOCIATIONS, CONCERNED CITIZENS AND TRADE ASSOCIATIONS
Coverage, quality of service: consumer associations, Arcep wants to hear from you!
End users of mobile networks, be they consumers or businesses, are sometimes dissatisfied with the services provided on mobile networks, and may see their connectivity needs evolve as new uses develop. Arcep (the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications, Postal Affairs and Print Media Distribution) is committed to keeping pace with your needs and, to this end, is launching a public consultation that will run until 23 September 2022. Invited to respond to all or part of this consultation, consumer associations may be particularly interested in Part 3, to share with Arcep the reasons for any dissatisfaction, along with their views on what their future uses and resulting frequency requirements might be.
To present the issues covered by this broad consultation, and to answer stakeholders’ questions, a webinar aimed specifically at consumer associations will be held at 10 am on 17 June 2022
• Registration on the Arcep website
LARGE CORPORATIONS, STARTUPS AND TRADE ASSOCIATIONS
Innovation, future connectivity: businesses and vertical market players, Arcep wants to hear from you!
Industry players, startups and other vertical entities (location authorities, universities, research labs, etc.) can use the power of 5G or other frequency technologies to provide new services or improve their operational performance. Arcep (the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications, Postal Affairs and Print Media Distribution) is committed to keeping pace with your needs and, to this end, is launching a public consultation that will run until 23 September 2022. Invited to respond to all or part of this consultation, industry players, startups and other verticals may be particularly interested in Part 2 of the public consultation, to be able to share their requirements, so that Arcep can plan for frequency access rules to meet those needs.
To present the issues covered by this broad consultation, and to answer stakeholders’ questions, a webinar aimed specifically at industry players, startups and other vertical players will be held at 4:30 pm on 16 June 2022
• Registration on the Arcep website
ASSOCIATIONS AND CITIZENS WORKING TO REDUCE THE DIGITAL CARBON FOOTPRINT
The future of mobile networks and the digital carbon footprint: associations and concerned citizens, Arcep wants to hear from you!
The carbon footprint, consumption of rare earths, water, primary energy… the environmental impact of communication networks, devices and ICT is a growing source of concern. Arcep (the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications, Postal Affairs and Print Media Distribution) has made the environment a new central focus of its regulation, notably through its “Achieving digital sustainability” collaborative platform. Today, it is publishing a public consultation on the future of mobile networks, which includes an environmental dimension. Associations and concerned citizens are invited to respond to this consultation which will run until 23 September 2022. Part 3.2 in particular gives everyone an opportunity to help deepen Arcep’s examination of ways to reduce the environmental impact of networks, and to promote digital sustainability in general.
To present the issues covered by this broad consultation, and to answer stakeholders’ questions, a webinar aimed specifically at associations and members of the public concerned about the digital carbon footprint will be held at 4 pm on 14 June 2022
• Registration on the Arcep website
ACADEMICS
Thinking about the future of mobile networks: researchers and academics, Arcep wants to hear your views
New technologies invariably give rise to fundamental questions over the resulting technical, societal, economic, environmental issues… Arcep (the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications, Postal Affairs and Print Media Distribution) is very mindful of these questions and is launching a public consultation that will run until 23 September 2022. People involved in research, regardless of their field of study, are invited to contribute to this consultation. In particular, you could share your views and findings on the new functionalities, use cases and architectures to emerge from 5G in Part 1 of the consultation. Part 2 addresses the issues surrounding innovation and economic development via vertical industry players (businesses and industries, excluding operators, that use networks). Questions regarding societal needs in the areas of mobile coverage and quality of service, as well as environmental issues are in Part 3.