In March 2022, Arcep opened a trial platform in the 3.8-4.0 GHz band for manufacturers looking to experiment and test new 5G use cases
French regulator Arcep said it has awarded a total of 25 trial licenses for manufacturers willing to experiment and test new 5G use cases since March 2022.
In March 2022, Arcep opened a trial platform in the 3.8-4.0 GHz band for manufacturers and market players looking to experiment and test new 5G use cases. The aim of these trials is to enable industry players to test 5G-related technologies.
“Arcep considers this trial platform to be a success, noting the diversity of the stakeholders involved, covering an array of economic sectors, including manufacturing, energy and health,” the regulator said.
Arcep also noted that it is extending the availability of this platform until December 31, 2023 to enable additional trials. The 26 GHz band remains available for trials, notably to manufacturers and businesses from every sector, the regulator added.
“The responses to the public consultation on the future of mobile networks, which Arcep conducted in May, highlighted the interest that exists amongst certain market players to continue to test use cases in the 26 GHz band. Arcep is therefore sending out a reminder that any interested parties can continue to request a license to use 26 GHz band frequencies for the purposes of conducting technical trials, with no commercial purpose, which will enable them to use up to 800 MHz of spectrum, for a period of up to three years,” the regulator said.
Mobile operator Orange has three trial licenses in total, in Charbonnières-les-Bains, Balma,and Paris for testing standalone 5G (SA) edge and slicing mechanisms with developers for, respectively, enterprise use cases, connected and autonomous vehicles, and video capture for “major events”. Rival Bouygues Telecom has one license, in Meudon et Boulogne-Billancourt, to test connected industries solutions.
Meanwhile, NTT is testing its private 5G solution for enterprises in Parisot, in southern France, while its French-based stablemate Transatel has a license to test private/public 5G roaming in the north, in Puteaux. As well, Schneider Electric has a license in Grenoble for factory operations, Alsatis has one in Toulouse for the European transport sector, French research organization CEA has one in Palaiseau for to develop AR/VR for Industry 4.0, and EDF has one in Palaiseau for testing AR in the energy sector.
Other companies carrying out trials include Thales, Haventure, Airbus, Axians, SNCF, ILS Technologies, Capgemini and IHU Strasbourg.
