Reminder on the frequency bands used by 5G
The 3 frequency bands identified for 5G:
The 700
MHz band, already allocated to mobile telephone operators (Bouygues Telecom,
Free, SFR and Orange in France) carries far and can penetrate into buildings,
does not, however, allow high speeds due in particular to a spectrum assigned
limited to 30 MHz duplex (5 to 10 MHz duplex per operator); bolts
The 3.5
GHz band, in the process of being allocated which makes it possible to deliver
high and very high speed since no less than 310 MHz duplex will be allocated
(between 50 and 100 MHz duplex per operator), but whose range and capabilities
propagation in buildings is less (see below);
The 26 GHz
band, whose allocation schedule has not yet been decided, which will provide
access to the promises of 5G (ultra high speed [1] , very low latency, etc.),
but with a coverage limited to small cells of around a hundred meters in
radius.
A gradual upgrade of the operators' sites
In France, among the obligations that the beneficiaries of
the 3.5 GHz frequency bands will have to meet are those relating to the
coverage of the territory, which are, for the first time, expressed in number
of sites, and not in a rate of portable coverage to be achieved:
Number of sites open in 5G (for each operator) 3000 8,000 10,500 100%
of sites existing in the operator's fleet
In addition, in 2024 and 2025, 25% of the number of 5G sites
deployed in France must be located in a “rural” area , defined by all the
municipalities included in the “priority deployment area” 4G and the
municipalities of “ industrial territories ”located outside urban units of more
than 50,000 inhabitants, ie in total approximately 26,000 municipalities
representing 30% of the population.
Thus, while in 1 st January 2020, the National Frequencies
Agency (ANFr) were nearly 50 000 4G sites authorized to issue in France (all
operators), it is possible to consider that the upgrade in 5G of the operators'
sites (Bouygues Telecom, Free, SFR and Orange) will be done very gradually,
could be spread over ten years, and concern the rural world only very
sparingly.
Much less 5G coverage
In fact, in order to obtain 3.5 GHz frequencies, operators
(SFR, Orange, Free, Bouygues Telecom) will not be required to create new sites.
Thus, with a view to this future allocation of
authorizations for the use of frequencies in the 3.5 GHz band, the consulting
firm Tactis took an interest in the possibilities of propagation in this band.
To this end, using the ATOLL radio network simulation software, we simulated,
on different topologies of the territory, a 5G network in the 3.5 GHz band [2]
, and compared it to the extent of 4G network coverage in the 800 MHz band
simulated from the same sites.
These simulations show a deterioration, at a constant number
of sites, in 5G coverage and service levels.5G
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