On 29 July 2025, Bouygues Telecom and SFR sent a new amendment to their 2014 mobile network sharing (or “Crozon”) agreement to Arcep, which has examined it and is publishing its conclusions.
This new amendment adapts the sharing agreement to the reorganisation of shared network site assets
This amendment alters, first, the scope of the sites managed by Infracos (the former Bouygues Telecom-SFR joint venture) whose shares and voting rights will also be divested in full to the firm, Phoenix Tower International. Second, it transfers management of the sites removed from the scope of Infracos to a new Bouygues Telecom-SFR joint venture. As a result of this new organisation of corporate assets, the current amendment changes the terms of the sharing agreement.
The Law gives Arcep the power to request that mobile operators amend their network sharing agreement “if required to meet regulatory objectives set forth in Article L. 32-1 or to fulfil the commitments written into licences to use radio frequencies”[1]. Arcep thus adopted a set of guidelines[2] in May 2016 for assessing mobile network sharing agreements. It was in light of these elements that the Authority examined the amendment submitted by Bouygues Telecom and SFR.
After review, Arcep concluded that it does not appear necessary to request that Bouygues Telecom and SFR amend their agreement
Regarding the scope of the contractual amendment that draws the conclusions of this reorganisation of assets, and does not bring any substantial change to the terms of the reciprocal provision of the RAN sharing service between the two operators, Arcep concluded that this amendment is not likely to create an obstacle to achieving the regulatory objectives set out in CPCE Article L. 32-1.
If necessary, the Authority will examine any new amendment to this agreement, with respect to regulatory objectives.
Regulatory objectives, mobile network sharing agreements between Bouygues Telecom and SFR, and previous amendments
Bouygues Telecom and SFR concluded a network sharing agreement (aka “Crozon” agreement) in 2014, for a period of 20 years. It initially pertained to 2G/3G/4G networks over a large portion of Metropolitan France, with a temporary 4G roaming solution.
Since August 2015, Arcep has had the power to request that mobile operators amend their network sharing agreements whenever it appears necessary to meet regulatory objectives. To provide the sector with clarity on the exercise of this newfound power, Arcep published a set of guidelines on 25 May 2016 that set out an analytical framework for assessing network sharing agreements, and called on operators to take them into account.
As a result, Bouygues Telecom and SFR amended their agreement in 2016 to include a trajectory for gradually phasing out 4G roaming, by the end of 2018.
In February 2020, Bouygues Telecom and SFR sent Arcep an amendment to their network sharing agreement. The aim of this amendment was to establish design, selection and deployment rules for the new 2G, 3G and 4G cell sites being shared in the geographical area covered by the agreement, in particular with a view to meeting their regulatory obligations under the “New Deal for Mobile”. The rules and terms of mobile network sharing set out in the initial agreement continued to apply to these new sites as well. They also remain unchanged for existing sites contained within the scope of the agreement.
In January 2023, Bouygues Telecom and SFR sent Arcep three new amendments to the network sharing agreement. Once in effect, they included:
• Expanding the network sharing (excluding spectrum sharing) initially implemented for 2G, 3G and 4G technologies, to include 5G technology – detailing the technical, operational and financial terms governing shared 5G network operation;
• A new densification of the shared network, with the addition of new cell sites. The geographical scope remains unchanged.
[1] This authority is stipulated in Article L.34-8-1-1 of the French Postal and Electronic Communications Code (CPCE), created by Law No. 2015-990 of 6 August 2015 on Growth, economic activity and equal economic opportunity.