The oldest frequencies will benefit from a polish

Facing the evolution of antennas and outdated regulations, Europe plans to update the technical conditions for the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands.

While there has been a lot of talk about new frequencies when 5G was introduced, the old ones also deserve a little attention. GSM was launched in the 900 MHz band in France and Europe in the early 1990s and later released to the 1800 MHz band. These frequencies are the oldest used in the mobile network, so they are even better used and still used by operators, each with multiple compatible platforms for their 3G or 4G networks.

But in the face of material development, the latter must be followed to be effective. ANFR They “Now designed by ancient European texts”And will benefit this year from new technological conditions that are most relevant to new equipment used in mobile networks. The company points out that they have already been able to evolve, especially by switching to LTE technology that allows mobile broadband, as well as other protocols related to UMTS or the Internet of Things. Facing the advent of new antennas with stereo beams used for 5G, the conditions for coexistence of frequencies will be adjusted in favor of technological neutrality at the European level.

Each European country has its own strategy regarding these frequency bands: if 3G at 900MHz is on the verge of extinction with our German neighbors, its deployment continues with a total of 50,320 sites activated on February 1, 2022, with pooling included. This new technological framework needs to be adapted to each of the EU member states, taking into account different national dynamics, while maintaining the specific status of the GSM. In France, for example, as part of a new mobile agreement, restructuring of the 900 MHz frequency plan is scheduled for 2024 for Orange, Free, SFR and Bouygues Telecom.

“This new configuration would synchronize a frequency scheme for each band by recommending at least 5 MHz bands per operator and reject technically neutral conditions without specifying standards including the use of active antennas.ANFR explains. This will allow too “An operator who introduces 5G or other compatible technology without the prior permission of the controller“.