Average mobile data traffic per user in Metropolitan France has increased from 530 Mb to 17 Gb a month since 2015, which translates into a 32-fold increase[1]. To prevent the effects of network saturation, which diminish the user experience, operators need to adjust mobile networks’ capacity by providing their infrastructures with new frequency bands and deploying new cell sites (towers, masts, etc.).
To anticipate future needs as fully as possible, while ensuring efficient management of the spectrum that it is responsible for assigning, and to have points of reference on the investments that the sector may be required to make, Arcep commissioned a study from consulting firm Analysys Mason, to obtain forward-looking information on changing user practices on wireless networks, and to carry out simulations of wireless electronic communications networks’ scaling requirements according to different scenarios and assumptions. The purpose of these projections is to elucidate Arcep on:
- The risks of wireless network congestion according to different scenarios for changing practices on these networks;
- The potential benefits of using the upper 6 GHz band (i.e. frequencies from 6425 MHz – 7125 MHz), depending on whether it will be used by Wi-Fi networks or cellular networks.
Arcep is publishing a brief summarising the main findings of this study, along with the opinion of the Advisory committee responsible for providing a critical analysis of these findings.
The study’s conclusions do not prejudice the Authority’s directions or decisions on radio spectrum management. The goal in making this document public is to contribute to a deeper understanding of the effects of changing practices on wireless networks, and the role given to spectrum use as a result – as part of an exploratory and forward-looking exercise, based on up-to-date and well-defined assumptions.