The auction for the allocation of 5G frequencies begins on Tuesday and is expected to last a few days.
At the end of this process, during which the operators will try to acquire the best possible frequencies, this new telecommunications network will begin to be deployed in France.
DECRYPTION
In the midst of the debate on 5G, France is taking a decisive step in the development of this new mobile data network: the auctions for the allocation of frequencies begin on Tuesday, after being postponed for five months because of the coronavirus.
An obligatory passage for operators before being able to concretely develop the 5G network and equipment in our country.
Despite the reluctance of opponents to this technology, this in a way marks the official launch of 5G in France.
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New frequencies to be allocated
The auction is the phase of allocation to operators of new frequencies, those that will be used for 5G.
Operators absolutely need it to offer this service, which will provide a speed ten times more powerful than today on our phones.
It is essential for Orange, SFR, Bouygues and Free: without these frequencies, they would remain stuck with 4G.
However, this network will saturate and within two years and even making a simple phone call could become complicated.
The operators will therefore take out the checkbook to obtain the best frequencies because all are not equal.
Initially, 5G will be broadcast in the 3.4 to 3.8 gigahertz (GHz) frequency band.
If they emit in the center of this band or at its ends, the performances will be more or less subject to interference from nearby frequencies.
It is therefore, for each actor, to position themselves as best as possible according to their budget.
Discreet auctions and a jackpot for the state
In fact, a first phase has already been held without making any noise.
It was not an auction in the common sense of the term: the State, which manages the allocation of frequencies, proposed to each operator to acquire a block of 50 megahertz (MHz) in the 5G frequency band at fixed price of 350 million euros.
Orange, SFR, Bouygues and Free have all accepted this first contract.
The second phase, which looks more like a traditional auction, involves eleven 10 MHz blocks.
Opening price: 70 million euros per block.
In the first round, each of the four operators can ask to acquire between one and five blocks, no more, specifies Arcep, the telecoms regulatory authority.
That is to say a possible maximum demand of 20 blocks for only 11 available.
If the operators' demand is greater than the supply, the frequencies are put back into play in a new auction round by adding five million euros to the price.
And so on until everyone is satisfied, either because the blocks are getting too expensive for some or because all frequencies are sold.
Deployment of 5G before the end of the year
At the rate of eight rounds per day, these auctions should go quickly, one to two weeks maximum, according to the estimates of several players in the file.
The State is rubbing its hands: the operation will bring him a minimum of 2.17 billion euros in the very unlikely hypothesis of auctions completed in the first round.
In reality, the battle promises to be very close.
An operator tells Europe 1 that the jackpot could well climb to 3.5 billion euros.
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Once this process is complete, operators will be able to install the new 5G antennas, deployed at 4G sites.
And on the customer side, this means the arrival of the first consumer 5G offers, first in the big cities, towards the end of the year, with adapted packages and phones.
A rapid timing that cringe in the camp of opponents since a report from the National Health Security Agency (ANSES) on the effects of 3.5 GHz frequencies on health is expected for 2021 only.