From November 18, the four telephone operators have their respective frequencies to transmit 5G in France.

But the real kickoff of the new mobile network will only come in a few days, the time to obtain authorization to issue and install 5G antennas.

DECRYPTION

Wednesday November 18.

This may be the date that will go down in history as the official launch of 5G in France.

Indeed, it is on this day that the 5G frequencies, those which will emit this new generation of mobile network, are activated.

But in fact, this date is above all symbolic.

For the general public, 5G will not be visible on phones until December.

A launch that will only concern a few large cities, and again, the negotiations to install the antennas on the territory being more complicated than expected.

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A theoretical green light for 5G

Let's be clear: there is not yet 5G for the general public in France.

So why is the date of November 18 chosen as the official launch date?

In fact, the 3.5 GHz frequency blocks, acquired by the operators at the end of September during an auction phase, are now made available to them by Arcep, the telecoms regulatory authority.

Except that none are ready to use 5G frequencies yet.

Orange, SFR, Bouygues and Free are awaiting yet another authorization, that of the National Radio Frequencies Agency.

It is she who will give the green light to transmit.

"It's a matter of days," we are assured at SFR.

Orange, for its part, wants to deploy its 5G network in good early December.

Like the other operators, the market leader will be able to rely on the experiments carried out in recent years in France.

The National Frequency Agency currently has a little less than 500 5G antennas installed in the nine selected test cities: Paris (116), Marseille (95), Lille (89), Nantes (55), Montpellier (54), Lyon ( 24), Toulouse (22), Bordeaux (19) and Rouen (5).

A list that does not bode well for future 5G coverage.

"It is sure that it is easier to use them. But the test antennas will not be automatically activated during the launch", affirms one at Orange.

Negotiations with skeptical mayors

Indeed, to get started, operators must also negotiate with the municipalities where 5G antennas will be installed.

The list of cities that will be covered from the end of the year is a well-kept secret.

We already know that Paris will be concerned.

"It will not be a district here and there but the whole capital", recently confided Stéphane Richard, the boss of Orange.

The operator's 250 4G antennas already present in the city will then be gradually converted to emit 5G.

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But afterwards, it's more complicated.

The operators had targeted large cities in the regions to offer significant coverage of the population from the start.

Except that in Lille, Grenoble, Bordeaux, Lyon or even Rennes, the mayors who are worried about the effects of 5G on health are slowing down negotiations.

"We could do without their authorization since for the moment it is simply a matter of converting 4G antennas to 5G. But in the current climate, that would be counterproductive. It takes time but we prefer to discuss with elected officials. ", explains one at Bouygues Telecom.

5G is also a new phone and a new plan

In fact, city officials do not have the power to refuse 5G coverage in their municipality.

On the other hand, when it comes to installing new antennas, some refuse to allow operators to build or carry out works.

A way for them to save time until the publication, in the first quarter of 2021, of the report from ANSES, the National Health Security Agency, on the potential effects of 5G on health.

Others organize moratoriums at the local level.

"It may shift some network openings", concedes one at SFR.

Despite everything, there will be several cities covered in the coming weeks.

If you live in an affected area, you will therefore be able to benefit from 5G in the first half of December.

To do this, you will first have to buy a compatible phone.

There are already a dozen of them on the market at Samsung, Huawei and obviously Apple, including the iPhone 12 which has just been released is the first 5G smartphone.

And then, you will have to change your package.

Orange and Bouygues are the only two to have presented their offers.

We therefore know that it will cost a little more expensive, five euros more per month on average, but that in exchange you will have a lot more mobile data.