French telecoms regulator Arcep on Tuesday announced the allocation of 2.6GHz spectrum for 4G/LTE services to the four successful bidders – Bouygues Telecom, Free Mobile, Orange France and SFR. The award was facilitated by Decision No. 2011-1080 of 22 September 2011, it said. The awards bring to a close the issuing of licences to use frequencies in the 2.6GHz band to establish and operate a public ‘4G’ mobile radio network in metropolitan France. Arcep has awarded a duplex frequency block of 20MHz of spectrum each to Free Mobile and Orange France, and a duplex block of 15MHz of spectrum to both Bougyues Telecom and SFR. The resulting layout of the 2.6GHz frequency band is as follows:
• SFR – 2500MHz-2515MHz and 2620MHz-2635MHz
• Orange France – 2515MHz-2535MHz and 2635MHz-2655MHz
• Bouygues Telecom – 2535MHz-2550MHz and 2655MHz-2670MHz
• Free Mobile – 2550MHz-2570MHz and 2670MHz-2690MHz
The regulator notes that stipulations concerning the hosting of MVNOs are included in the terms of the licences issued to Bouygues Telecom, Free Mobile and Orange France, all of which have made a commitment in this area for the frequencies they have been awarded. Arcep will now turn its attention to the award of 4G 800MHz band spectrum, for which the deadline for applications is 15 December 2011.