The Autorité de Régulation des Communications Électroniques et des Postes (ARCEP), an independent French agency that is in charge of regulating telecommunications in France (comparable to the FCC in the US) has launched auctions today for frequencies to build high-speed 4th generation (4G) mobile telephone networks with minimum bids set at €2.5 billion.
The State has set the bottom bid at €1.8 billion for the 800MHz band and at €700 billion for the 2.6 GHz band. Bids for 2.6 GHz frequencies close on September 15th with licenses awarded before the end of the year whereas bids for the 800 MHz frequencies close on December 15th with licenses awarded in early 2012.
Winners of the 2.6 gigahertz frequencies have to cover 75 percent of the French population within 12 years, and winners of the 800 megahertz band have to reach 98 percent coverage within 12 years.
There are currently four main French carriers which own a mobile license for 3G : France Télécom, SFR, Bouygues Telecom and Iliad. They are all potentially candidates for the new frequencies.
4G technology that promises better throughput and faster speeds is becoming a necessity today given that data trafic has considerably increased with Smartphones uses. France is now on the road to joining the 4G race.
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