The French telco expects its 4G service to reach 99% of the population via network sharing
French telecom operator Bouygues Telecom expects to see growing revenue in the coming years due to the increasing demand for mobile and fixed broadband in the local market.
During the company’s Capital Markets Day, Bouygues said it expects sales from network services to grow more than 10% in 2017 vs. 2014, taking into account a target of 1 million more mobile customers and 1 million additional fixed broadband customers in 2017 vs. 2014.
The company also targets an earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization margin of 25% for 2017 and an average annual capital expenditure of around 750 million euro ($842 million) for the coming years.
“The French telecoms market is experiencing an unprecedented acceleration in mobile data consumption thanks to the very fast adoption of 4G and the continually improved power of smartphones,” the company said.
Bouygues Telecom also noted that its 4G LTE network currently covers 72% of the French population. “Thanks to network sharing in nondense areas, 4G coverage will reach 99% of the population by 2018 via an extension of the network from 15,000 to 20,000 base stations,” the statement reads.
The telco added that the aggregation of 800, 1800 and 2600 megahertz frequencies will also provide speeds of up to 300 Mbps. Bouygues Telecom launched LTE services in the French market in April 2013.
“The mobile base station sharing agreement with Numericable-SFR in nondense areas will significantly enhance network quality while generating savings of around 100 million euro per year on operating costs and capital expenditure from 2018,” the telco said.
Bouygues Telecom also revealed that its network assets enable the company to target high-value mobile customers. At the end of June, 42% of its customers were 4G users, consuming an average of 2.4 GB of data per month, significantly above the 610 MB market average.
Deutsche Telekom tests tri-band CA LTE-A in Berlin
German service provider Deutsche Telekom has carried out a trial of tri-band carrier aggregation technology on its LTE-Advanced network using spectrum in the 800 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz frequency bands.
The trial was carried out at several locations in the Prenzlauer Berg district in Berlin, and was implemented in cooperation with Chinese telecom equipment manufacturer Huawei.
Deutsche Telekom initially launched LTE services in Germany in April 2011. The telco currently offers the service through spectrum in the 800 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz bands.
