5G deployment February 2021: Free is still 1st, SFR is last

Arcep has published its observatory for the deployment of 5G in February 2021. This is an opportunity to see whether Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom and Free Mobile have made progress over the past few weeks.

5G deployment per operator according to Arcep in February 2021

Free Mobile remains the leading operator with 6,273 5G sites, or 633 more compared to data from December 31. Xavier Niel’s group prioritizes the 700 MHz and 800 MHz bands. It is the only one to do so when it comes to 5G. It also partially deploys on the 3,500 MHz.

Bouygues Telecom follows suit with 1,885 5G sites, a gain of 385 since the last count. The operator is particularly focused on the 1800 MHz and 21000 MHz bands. We can also see deployment at the 3,500 MHz level.

Next comes Orange with its 953 5G sites in France, a gain of 211 new 5G sites. It is the only one to give priority to the 3500 MHz band. SFR comes in last with 869 new 5G sites. This represents only an addition of 77 new sites in a few weeks.

The Arcep observatory in February 2021 also provides information on the mapping of 5G sites open commercially at each operator. As we can see, there is still a lot of work to do.