- Iliad-owned Free becomes latest European operator to launch 5G SA
- Bouygues Telecom aims to follow suit in the coming months
- Orange France also launched 5G+ Home service based on 5G SA
Although concerns have been raised in certain quarters about the slow deployment of 5G standalone networks (5G SA) at a global level, a modest flurry of activity has occurred in recent weeks from operators in France, Germany and the U.K.
Last week, for example, French operator Free, which is owned by the Iliad group, proclaimed itself as the first operator in France to offer 5G SA on its public network on a national scale, using 3.5 GHz spectrum that was awarded in October 2020. In addition, Free is launching Voice over New Radio (VoNR) to support voice communication over a 5G network.
Free also claims to currently have the largest 5G network in France, with over 20,000 5G sites in service, including 6,950 3.5 GHz sites and the remainder on 700 MHz frequencies. “Available in almost 10,500 municipalities, it already covers nearly 95% of the French population,” the operator said.
France’s regulator Arcep certainly appears to back up this claim, although it logs fewer 5G sites than Free. It puts Bouygues Telecom in second place in terms of overall 5G sites, followed by Altice-owned SFR and then Orange France. However, Orange has the largest number of 3.5 GHz 5G sites at around 10,000.
Rivals react
Free’s 5G SA launch announcement seemed to come as a shock to rivals. Indeed, just hours later, Orange France issued its own release, noting that it will start offering a home-based 5G SA service called 5G+ Home from October 10.
Orange added that enterprise customers can now start testing its 3.5 GHz-based 5G SA service, branded 5G+, and said it is preparing further offers for the consumer and B2B markets in 2025. The operator commented that it made “extensive use” of its 5G SA network during the Olympic Games in Paris this summer and is now able to build on this experience.
Bouygues Telecom said it plans to launch 5G SA for the general public in the coming months. It pointed out that it launched the standalone service for enterprise customers in February 2024. “Our strategy is to offer it where real needs exist, which is the case today for businesses,” a spokesperson added.
SFR noted that it activated its 5G SA network in December 2023. SFR Business also launched a 5G SA offer aimed at businesses at the end of 2023.
5G SA elsewhere
In the U.K., BT-owned EE finally deployed its long-trailered 5G SA network at the beginning of September. It launched 5G SA in 15 cities with network partners Ericsson and Nokia.
Meanwhile, Deutsche Telekom said it remains on track to launch its 5G SA offering in Germany this year, becoming the last of the three incumbent mobile network operators to offer services that rely on a 5G core network.
On a worldwide level, the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) said in its September update that at least 60 operators in 34 countries and territories are now understood to have launched or deployed public 5G SA networks, one of which has only soft launched the network.