Free Mobile continues to be the leader in terms of the number of 5G sites spread across the region, all frequencies combined, and it’s also the operator that deployed the most sites during February.
Like every start of the month, ANFR unveils a new mobile network penetration meter. If Free takes second place in the overall ranking in terms of deployment of 4G sites, on the new generation, the operator is the one who records the strongest progress, as all frequencies are combined for the just past month.
As of March 1, 23,566 operational 5G sites are listed by the National Frequency Agency. Free remains the largest operator, with 14,299 sites (including 280 sites activated this month), followed by Bouygues Telecom with 6,943 sites (218 activations in February), SFR with 5,450 sites (187 activations) and finally Orange with 3,368 sites activated ( 104 new operational sites) in France. The trend was very slow among operators during February, with an average of new sites, all frequencies combined, being around 400-500 active sites.
The first position of the operator can be explained quite simply by its extensive use of 5G 700MHz, a frequency already used for 4G and therefore already installed on the antennas. But the operator is not worthy of the so-called “queen” band of the new generation of mobile phones: 3.5 GHz.
149 free activations were recorded on this frequency during February, compared to 125 in Orange, 116 in Bouygues Telecom and 62 in SFR. And while the Bouygues subsidiary appeared to have taken over in January, the operator resumed a slight lead over its rival, with 2,840 operational positions versus 2,805 for the latter. However, it is still behind SFR (2,979 3.5GHz sites) and Orange (3,056 3.5GHz sites).
Xavier Niel’s operator also activated 322 sites on the 700MHz band, while Orange, SFR and Bouygues activated a total of 324 sites (without taking into account aggregation) on 2100MHz.
Currently, the 5G network deployed by the four operators is still based on the 4G core network. This should change next year, with Orange announcing the launch of so-called “standalone” 5G, based on the 5G core network and eventually allowing new uses as well as very low latency and higher speeds.
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