The global outdoor advertising company said that small cells will be deployed in ten cities across France
Global outdoor advertising company JCDecaux has announced that will provide support for French telecoms operators to roll out small cells in around ten French cities in 2019.
The company said that this decision follows the publication of a report by France’s National Frequency Agency (ANFR) in December 2018, demonstrating the relevance of the small cells installed on JCDecaux street furniture.
JCDecaux said that the main aim of installing small cells on its street furniture is to enable telecoms operators to improve the coverage and performance of their mobile networks for both voice and data traffic in highly populated urban centers. The company said it has been working with French mobile network operators on pilot projects since 2016; it has projects in other countries, such as 200 small cells on bus shelters in Amsterdam for local carrier Vodafone, since 2014. JCDecaux said that it can install up to 4 small cells on each item of street furniture with limited visual impact, offering cities multi-operator deployment solutions that enable the integration of these technologies in the urban environment.
In 2015, JCDecaux created JCDecaux Link, a division dedicated to developing connectivity, which now operates in 10 countries (Germany, Brazil, Chile, Spain, France, Italy, Mongolia, Panama, the Netherlands and the US), working for major telecom groups such as Vodafone, Verizon, Orange, Telefónica and América Móvil.
“We are delighted to announce that we are accelerating the roll-out of small cells on our street furniture in France, after several years of promoting their benefits and developing them in France and abroad. Through this initiative, JCDecaux, as a long-standing partner of city authorities, is showing that its advertising displays provide an excellent way of meeting the public’s connectivity needs,” said Jean-Charles Decaux, chairman of the executive board and Co-CEO of JCDecaux. “JCDecaux is dedicated to help create cities that are increasingly open, accessible and attractive, and we believe that the deployment of a very advanced infrastructure is a pre-requisite to creating a smart city. This could well be the source of new products and services that benefit everyone and which create value, growth and jobs.”
