Paris, 18 June 2014
In a decision issued on 18 June 2014, France’s highest administrative court, the Conseil d’Etat, rejected an appeal filed by Orange against the ARCEP decision of 4 April 2013 authorising Bouygues Telecom to refarm the 1800 MHz band to technologies other than GSM, starting on 1 October 2013 — provided the company relinquish some of its spectrum according to a specific timetable.
The Conseil d’Etat found that “ARCEP took the appropriate measures to ensure equality between operators and that the conditions for effective competition were met, “ as required by the regulatory framework for introducing technological neutrality into the terms of frequency licences.
ARCEP welcomes this decision, which confirms the Authority’s balanced approach whose aim is to encourage all operators to further the development of superfast mobile access, while ensuring the conditions for fair and effective competition in the mobile market.
Communiqué de presse