A top French politician confirmed the country will not follow Germany’s model for issuing 5G frequencies, because its industrial players have shown no appetite for acquiring private licences.
Secretary of state to the Minister of Economy and Finance Agnes Pannier-Runacher told Agence France-Presse the lack of clear demand for private 5G spectrum means there would be no allocation reserved for third parties. Instead, French operators will be granted exclusive rights to 5G frequencies.
The policy is vastly different from Germany, which has controversially kept back a sizable chunk of spectrum to allocate to industrial giants in the country. The move was one of the many grievances lodged by operators about the 5G spectrum allocation process.
Last month Deutsche Telekom CEO Timotheus Hoettges blamed the fact a quarter of available 5G spectrum was not being sold in Germany’s ongoing auction for creating an artificial shortage. Ultimately, he argued this would raise prices and leave operators short of cash for network construction.
While there is apparently no demand in France, industrial players in Germany are reportedly eager to apply for local 5G licences. Reuters reported Volkswagen, BASF, Daimler and Siemens were among the companies interested.
German regulator Bundesnetzagentur plans to allocate local licences in the second half of 2019. In a statement last month its president Jochen Homann said allocating the frequencies directly to industry allowed the networks to be “built exactly to the needs of the companies.”
In addition to the oft-cited connected factory use case, the regulator believes licences could benefit the agriculture and forestry sectors.
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