The so-called “new mobile deal” was first agreed in 2018, when the government and telecoms authority Arcep (l'Autorité de Régulation des Communications Electroniques et des Postes) launched the project with the four major mobile operators, Bouygues Telecom, Free Mobile, Orange, and SFR.
The project aims to cover all mobile phone signal “holes” in France by 2022 - including rolling out 4G coverage as much as possible.
The government has now published - in the Journal Officiel - a list of the official communes set to receive coverage by the end of 2020.
The decree reads: “This decree establishes the first list of areas to be covered, for the year 2020, by mobile radiocommunications operators participating in the targeted coverage scheme.
“These areas have been identified by the government in consultation with local authorities.”
It adds: “In each zone, the designated operators will be required to provide mobile radio-telephony and very high-speed mobile access services...by means of the installation of new sites...ensuring coverage...in the area.”
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The decree was approved by the minister for economy and finance, Bruno Le Maire; the minister for territorial cohesion, Jacqueline Gourault; the town and housing minister, Julien Denormandie; and a junior economy and finance minister, Agnès Pannier-Runacher.
The full list is divided by region, department, and specific zone or commune, and also shows which operators will be available in the area. Some will have all four operators; some only one or two.
The regions include Nouvelle-Aquitaine (including the departments of the Dordogne, Creuse, Gironde and Landes); Occitanie (Ariège, Aude, Gard, Haute-Garonne, Gers and Lot); the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (including the Ardèche, Cantal, Drôme, Savoie and Haute-Savoie); and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (Alpes-Maritimes, Var, and Vaucluse).
There are also plans for Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (including Côte-d'Or, Doubs, and the Jura); Brittany (including Côtes-d'Armor and Finistère); and Normandy (Orne and Manche), and others.
The full list, ordered by region and department alphabetically, with the full list of communes, along with the operators for each, can be seen here.
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