4G deployment March 2022: Free does better than other operators

Data regarding the deployment of 4G throughout March are published today by the National Frequency Agency (ANFR) and we can see that Free Mobile has been more active than its competitors.

Free Mobile stronger than its competitors in March

Free Mobile activated 164 new 4G sites during the month of March, which allows it to have 21,772 throughout France. The second most active operator was Orange with 97 new 4G sites. The incumbent operator thus has 27,790 in France.

We then find SFR with 80 new 4G sites over the same period, for a total of 23,071 in the country. Finally, Bouygues Telecom comes in fourth and last place with 74 new 4G sites. The operator has 22,952 throughout France.

We can see that operators are seriously starting to slow down the deployment of 4G. This is normal after all, it is already well established in the country and Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom and Free Mobile prefer to bet more on 5G.

Moreover, 32,930 5G sites are authorized in France by the ANFR, including 5 sites in Overseas France. 24,046 of them are declared technically operational by the operators. Almost all of these 5G installations are authorized on existing sites, already used by 2G, 3G or 4G technologies. Only 4 sites only host 5G. In March, authorized 5G sites therefore increased by 0.9%.