Free also said that its recent launch of 5G SA technology allowed the telco to become the first operator in France to launch VoNR services
French telco Free Mobile, a subsidiary of local telecoms goup Illiad, claimed to be the first operator in the country to offer 5G Standalone (5G SA) technology via the 3.5 GHz band at a national scale.
In a release, Free noted that it currently has the largest 5G mobile network in France, with over 20,000 5G sites in service, including 6,950 3.5 GHz sites. The telco said its 5G offering is currently available in almost 10,500 municipalities, covering nearly 95% of the French population.
“5G SA will also enable companies of all sizes and organizations across the public sector to provide their teams, customers and users with a suite of services that require powerful performance capabilities. Its optimal latency, faster speeds and the new network use cases it offers will allow companies to create new services, which for Free Pro – our B2B entity – represents new growth opportunities,” the telco said.
“Our teams have been working hard for many months on this ambitious project, which required the construction of a new core network and the accelerated deployment of a 5G 3.5 GHz network,” it added.
Free also said that its recent launch of 5G SA technology allowed the telco to become the first operator in France to launch VoNR services.
The telco also stated that 5G SA is available as of now and at no extra cost for 5G subscribers. Free already offers a range of phones that are compatible with 5G SA, including Samsung phones.
France had a total of 47,939 authorized 5G sites as of September 1, of which 38,945 were declared technically operational by the local mobile carriers, according to the latest monthly report published by France’s spectrum agency ANFR.
ANFR said that the number of authorized 5G sites during August increased by 1.2% compared to the previous month. The agency said that almost all of the 5G sites have been authorized on existing cellular sites, already used by 2G, 3G or 4G technologies.
In France, mobile carriers are already providing 5G services through the 700 MHz, 2.1 GHz and 3.5 GHz spectrum bands. ANFR said that a total of 26,044 sites are authorized in the 700 MHz band, of which 19,948 are already technically operational. Also, ANFR said that 21,173 sites are authorized in the 2.1 GHz band but 15,553 are technically operational. Meanwhile, 31,933 sites are authorized in the 3.5 GHz band, of which 24,829 are declared technically operational.
Free Mobile had the highest number of operational 5G sites as of the end of August, with 19,927 followed by Bouygues Telecom (14,153), SFR (12,764) and Orange (10,451).