It is the end of a long political soap opera: the telecoms operators have kicked off 5G in Paris where the network will be put into service from Friday, they announced, Thursday, March 18, to the 'after a last meeting with the town hall.

Paris will therefore join Strasbourg, Lyon or Bordeaux, where 5G has already been launched despite local reluctance.

In the matter, it is the State which decides and the mayors cannot legally oppose.

"Reason prevails (...) 5G is essential for the future", declared on Twitter the secretary of state for digital, Cédric O.

Good news: “as expected”, # 5G is coming on in Paris, as everywhere in 🇫🇷 and 🇪🇺.

Reason wins.

5G will prevent mobile networks from saturating, while improving their energy efficiency.

It is also essential for the future of #FrenchTech.

- Cédric O (@cedric_o) March 18, 2021

Anxious to avoid controversy, the operators started a consultation in Paris, which resulted in a "charter" framing the deployment of 5G in the capital, validated by the city council at the beginning of March, following a citizens' conference organized by the city at the end of December.

It was the signing of this charter on March 15 by the operators (Bouygues Telecom, Free Mobile, Orange and SFR) that made possible the commercial launch of 5G in Paris, while the Ile-de-France towns in the inner suburbs benefit from the coverage of the latest generation of mobile networks since the end of 2020.

In return, the operators have notably undertaken to "optimize the recycling of telephone equipment" or to promote "digital inclusion".

"There are already reports that exist"

Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo got this charter passed despite opposition from her environmental partners, who demanded a moratorium pending the results of studies on the environmental impact of 5G.

"There are already reports that exist, others will arrive," responded to AFP the deputy budget for mayor of Paris, Paul Simondon (PS), who led the drafting of the charter.

For the elected Parisian, "the agencies in question for which it is the responsibility (Arcep, Anses, ANFR, Ademe) need the deployment to be underway to take measurements, assess their techniques and complete these reports."

Orange and SFR, the first to have formalized the launch of their respective networks, have announced that they want to deploy exclusively on the 3.5 GHz frequency band, the one "which offers the best speeds".

>> To read: Deployment of 5G in France: a cascade of ecological issues

"By offering 5G this Friday to Parisians, SFR has shown on the one hand its willingness to respect the time for citizen debate, and on the other hand its ability to deploy its 5G network, in compliance with the adopted charter by the Paris Council, "said Grégory Rabuel, CEO of SFR, in a press release.

At Bouygues Telecom, which will also launch its 5G network on Friday, CEO Richard Viel estimated that "5G constitutes a real competitive advantage for Paris, which is preparing to host the 2024 Olympics".

From Paris to Nantes, via Rennes, several green or left-wing mayors of large cities had decided to launch a "public debate" at the end of 2020 to respond in particular to a "need for transparency" about the possible consequences of the deployment of 5G on the environment and health.

Bordeaux apologizes for opening 5G to its inhabitants

Other municipalities such as Lille have announced that they are in favor of a moratorium until the publication scheduled for spring 2021 of a report from the National Health Security Agency (Anses).

However, operators and public authorities have sought to find a political compromise to defuse a subject that has become even more controversial since the Citizen's Climate Convention itself recommended a moratorium this summer.

Several cities, initially recalcitrant, ended up letting operators activate their 5G networks, like Strasbourg, Lyon and Bordeaux.

The latter city, led by environmentalist Pierre Hurmic, even said it was "sorry" for the opening of local 5G in early February.

>> To see: Arrival of 5G in France: major technological advance or danger for our organizations?

"Clearly, we cannot do what we want on our own territory. We are not listened to. The State, despite its great speeches on climate change, does not hear," lamented the deputy mayor Delphine Jamet to AFP.

If 5G promises to offer, in the long term, a speed up to ten times faster, the operators are mainly counting on it for the moment to avoid the saturation of their mobile networks.

According to figures released Thursday evening by Arcep, the telecoms regulator, there were 11,119 5G sites operational in France as of February 28, an increase of 11.6% compared to the end of January.

With AFP

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