The telco secured five megahertz of 700 MHz spectrum
French telecom operator Bouygues Telecom installed its first 700 MHz antenna in Paris, according to a company statement. Mobile operators Orange, Bouygues, Numericable-SFR and Free Mobile secured 700 MHz spectrum in an auction held by telecom regulator Arcep last October.
Bouygues Telecom said it will launch a gradual deployment of “4G” services through the 700 MHz band. The company’s LTE network currently covers 75% of the country’s population, with plans to cover 82% of the French population by the end of this year.
Meanwhile, Free Mobile recently obtained authorization for the deployment of three base transceiver stations in Tarbes.
Beginning April 6, mobile operators are authorized to provide services in the 700 MHz band in a total of 2,374 communities across the country. France completed the migration process to digital terrestrial signal transmission on April 5, according to local press reports. The migration process will progressively vacate 60 megahertz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band, which will be used for mobile broadband services.
Orange Group enters Liberia via Cellcom acquisition
In other EMEA news, Orange completed the acquisition of Liberian mobile operator Cellcom. The acquisition was made through its subsidiary Orange Côte d’Ivoire. Cellcom Liberia claims 1.4 million subscribers.
With the acquisition, Orange said it now operates in 20 markets across Africa and the Middle East. “This acquisition is part of the international development strategy of Orange, which aims to accelerate growth by entering new emerging markets with high potential,” the European telco said in a statement.
With operations in 28 countries, Orange counted 263 million total subscribers worldwide at the end of last year, including 201 million mobile customers and 18 million fixed broadband customers.