Free Mobile launches 5G at a discount, really?

Criticized on its strategy around the use of the 700 MHz band on 5G, Free is singled out at a time when the debate between “real” and “false” 5G does not really have to be. Does Xavier Niel's operator offer a low-cost network or a "5G logo" compared to its rivals? Explanations.

Full of mischief, SFR must be rubbing their hands. Last June, its managing director, Grégory Rabuel launched hostilities after learning of Free's desire to use the so-called 700 MHz gold frequency to make 5G. “What I want, and we will discuss it again with the public authorities, (is that there) is a clarification between what is the real 5G which brings added value. And then what is fake 5G in quotation marks, which could ultimately just be a display and marketing effect. In this case, you must not lie to the French”.

Since then, the web and the press have continued to use these qualifiers, often to the detriment of Xavier Niel's operator, almost forgetting that the 5G launched by the operators will be based, whatever happens, on a 4G network core up to in 2023. 5G will begin to keep its promises when it is autonomous, then will come the 26 GHz band if the studies carried out reveal no health risk. This will really bring a strong gain in terms of throughput. The new generation of telephony is currently only a simple evolution of its big sister, launched to desaturate it. The revolution in uses, speeds and latency will come later.

For its part, the ANFR today puts the dots on the i. The 700 MHz frequency band used by Free on some 5000 sites because it is widely deployed by the operator, is in no way fake 5G, nor the 2100 MHz band used by Orange, Bouygues Telecom and SFR.

It should be remembered that low frequencies have more interesting properties than so-called high ones in terms of range and penetration into buildings. Above all, it is a ready-made solution for quickly covering the territory, with certainly much lower speeds than the 3.5 GHz “5G core” band acquired by telcos recently. Hence the importance of making a distinction in terms of quality and speeds on everyone's coverage maps. The UFC-Que Choisir has also given formal notice to the operators in this regard.

Presented as a pioneer by the regulator itself on 5G alongside the 3.5 GHz band, the 700 MHz frequency is, on the contrary, the 2100 MHz band, “harmonized at European level to accommodate 5G and will ultimately be used for the deployment of 5G by mobile operators”, recalls the National Frequency Agency. “It will offer complementarity in terms of coverage, particularly in rural areas, while other bands, higher in the hertzian spectrum, will favor the speed for new uses linked to 5G”.

It is clear today that Free Mobile has taken the lead in this regard with the desire to offer coverage far superior to its competitors, it is true to the detriment of speeds. Today, the four national operators thus use low frequencies in addition to their 5G network, based on so-called DSS technology. But problem, the gain in terms of speed may be limited or even not exceed that of 4G with the risk of degrading the quality of service on 4G.

On this point, everyone will be confronted with the reality on the ground in the coming months. Free could therefore come under more criticism since it already covers 40% of the population and the speeds offered by the 700 MHz band are lower compared to the 2100 MHz. Free knows this well and has chosen not to promote its 5G by offering it at no additional cost in its offers. Subscribers will then find it difficult to blame it for speeds that are not fast enough at first. On the other hand, its rivals have all increased their price by 5€ when launching the new generation of mobile telephony, for a meager network and a quality of service not keeping its promises for the time being. Two weights, two measures.

Orange and Free lead deployments on the 5G core band

It should not be forgotten, the sinews of war is the deployment of the 3.5 GHz band. And in this game, Orange is already taking the lead with 475 activated sites, ahead of Free Mobile and its 221 sites in service. Behind, follow Bouygues Telecom (115 supports) and SFR (97 sites). Ironically, the operator in the red square appears here as the worst student. If the Altice subsidiary preferred to claim to be the first to have launched 5G… the fact remains that the deployment of its network is already lagging behind that of its rivals. However, "we have made the choice" to deploy 5G on the 3.5 GHz frequency band, the operator's management announced loud and clear last June, not hesitating to multiply the communication blows. Discounted 5G therefore seems to be changing sides, according to Arcep's first 5G observatory. For its part, Bouygues Telecom will have to work twice as hard on the fibering of its mobile sites, otherwise Orange and Free Mobile could quickly distance themselves.