PRESS RELEASE
28 September 2021
COMMUNICATION TO THE SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE
BRIDGING THE MOBILE DIGITAL DIVIDE: THE
4G NEW DEAL BET
At the request of the Senate Finance Committee, the Court conducted an investigation into
the very high-speed 4G mobile internet coverage of the nation. The first 4G services were
marketed from 2012, although France was initially behind in their deployment compared to
its European partners, particularly in rural areas. This had negative consequences for the
economy and the development of these areas, as well as causing growing dissatisfaction for
people who live or travel there.
To address this difficulty, central government and telecommunications operators concluded
in January 2018, under the aegis of the ARCEP (Regulatory Authority for Electronic
Communications, Post and Press Distribution), an agreement, known as the Mobile
New
Deal
, announced with the intention of decisively reducing the digital divide across different
areas of the nation.
Three years after it began to be implemented, the Court drew up an initial assessment of
this new public policy approach aimed at reducing the digital divide, an ambition made even
more essential by the pandemic, which confirmed the crucial nature of high-quality access
throughout the nation to very high-speed mobile internet for economic, cultural,
educational, health and social life. At the end of its investigation, the Court made nine
recommendations to ensure the success of the Mobile
New Deal
and respond more broadly
to the challenges of mobile digital land planning.
This increasingly strong demand for quality mobile coverage nationwide is not
met through competitive dynamics alone
Very high-speed 4G mobile, which enables voice, messaging and above all high-quality mobile
internet services, was marketed in France from 2012. It requires investing in open-air
infrastructure (pylons and base stations) throughout the country and utilising radio
frequencies, the use of which central government grants to operators in return for financial
compensation. The 4G services market has seen exceptional momentum in recent years, as
shown by the widespread uptake of mobile internet devices among the French: in 2019, more
than three quarters (77%) of the population owned a smartphone.
To ensure the growth of these services, the public authorities encouraged a model of
competition through infrastructures with four different operators, which had positive effects
on prices and supported these mobile operators’ investment efforts (€32.4 bn in ten years,
including investments in the use of radio frequencies). However, as a consequence of this
model, the development of 4G was mainly directed towards the most profitable, high-density
areas, neglecting less densely populated rural areas.
The Mobile
New Deal
: a change of ambition and method to bridge the mobile
digital divide
The public authorities attempted to correct disparities across different areas, notably through
targeted programmes (e.g. the “
white zones
–
town centres
” scheme), although these efforts
proved insufficient. A change of approach was necessary to guarantee citizens’
equal access
to 4G, wherever they are located in France. This took the form of the Mobile
New Deal
agreement at the end of 2017
–
early 2018. The agreement was structured around a principle
of a trade-off between central government giving up all or part of the revenues generated by
the use of frequencies to be renewed and of tax revenues, and operators’ substantial and
targeted additional investments for improved nationwide coverage with high-quality mobile
internet (5,000 new sites per operator, widespread rollout of 4G on existing 2G/3G sites,
coverage of the main transport routes, improvement in the quality of coverage).
The financial effort made by central government has been put at just under €3 bn by the
ARCEP, with additional investments by operators
being between €3.2 bn and €5.6 bn. Due to
the level of uncertainty about this assessment and the assumptions chosen to carry it out, the
Court recommends conducting a precise mid-way assessment and verifying the balance of the
agreement after the fact.
Three years after its adoption, the
New Deal
has contributed to substantial
progress in the nation’s coverage without responding to all the challenges of
mobile digital development
Progress in terms of site deployment and 4G coverage of the nation is tangible. The coverage
rate of the nation by the four operators increased from 45% in early 2018 to 76% in mid-2020.
Coverage by at least one operator grew from 89% to 96% during the same period. The first
commitments of the New Deal are in the process of being met. The average quality of the
speeds measured has also improved nationwide. However, discrepancies persist to the
detriment of rural areas: the minimum speed for “standard” mobile internet uses was not
achieved in a quarter of the tests conducted by the ARCEP in rural areas in 2020,
especially
since there is no standard for minimum very high-speed in mobile.
Other important challenges are coming into play and indicate the need to supplement the
approach initiated by the New Deal. The incentive for the infrastructure pooling between the
four operators is still insufficient and could be strengthened, particularly in sparsely populated
areas, where there is a general economic and environmental benefit from this pooling. The
challenges of cybersecurity, the potential health risks of exposure to waves and the challenges
of the digital sustainability and carbon footprint of mobile created by 2G/3G/4G/5G networks
must be properly ascertained. It is also important to avoid recreating a new digital divide
across different areas of the nation linked to 5G, which will be gradually deployed by 2030.
Before this still distant deadline, the Court recommends taking action now to complete the
4G rollout by appraising the possible levers, particularly the reallocation of frequencies from
the legacy 2G/3G networks to 4G and new investment obligations negotiated with operators.
Read the report
PRESS CONTACT:
Emmanuel Kessler
Communication Director
Tel.
01 42 98 55 62
emmanuel.kessler@ccomptes.fr
Julie Poissier
Head of press relations
Tel. 01 42 98 97 43
julie.poissier@ccomptes.fr
@Courdescomptes
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