Arcep on Tuesday published the results of its public consultation into the forthcoming auction of 700 MHz spectrum in France, and said it expects to get the ball rolling this summer.
France’s mobile network operators were among the 46 respondents and, keen to protect their own interests, they did not always agree on the best route forward. In one particular area, Iliad’s Free Mobile found itself at odds with its three main rivals: the need – or otherwise – for spectrum rebalancing via the auction.
"[Some respondents] consider that there is no need to rebalance frequencies between mobile operators through the allocation of the 700 MHz band since the current holdings result from previous allocations or rebalancing exercises where competitive constraints have been taken into account," Arcep said in its results document.
Specifically, the mobile operators note that Free Mobile would be the main beneficiary of such a move. They claimed that Free has already benefitted from rebalancing in the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands, and subsequently had the same opportunity as they did to acquire new spectrum in various bands including 800 MHz.
In addition, they insisted that Free Mobile has already overcome any disadvantage in sub-1 GHz spectrum by being allowed to roam on Numericable-SFR’s 800 MHz infrastructure.
Unsurprisingly, Free Mobile’s parent was the lone voice of dissent.
"One operator (Iliad) believes it necessary that each of the four operators should have an equal quantity of low band spectrum," Arcep said.
While some operators support a cap on the amount of spectrum any one player can purchase through the auction, Iliad called for a cap to be applied across all sub-1 GHz bands, and not just the 700 MHz spectrum.
The document also covered the division of the available 700 MHz spectrum into blocks, mandated roaming, network sharing, spectrum refarming and variou s other topics.
The regulator will use the information contained in the responses to help it formulate its plans for the spectrum auction.
It is working on drafting a call for applications, with a view to issuing that call in July.
