Best mobile network: which operator has the best coverage and reception in France?, Orange, SFR, Free, Bouygues Telecom: which has the best 4G and 5G network in 2023?
Orange, SFR, Free, Bouygues Telecom: which has the best 4G and 5G network in 2023
THE NPERF score, Expressed in points, gives an overall overview of the quality of the mobile signal: it takes into account the measured flows, the latency and the quality of navigation and the internet streaming. Orange is therefore positioned as number 1 on this network, by offering the best 4G in France.
Best mobile network: which operator has the best coverage and reception in France ?
You want to change the package but you do not know who has the best mobile network in France ? Discover our comparison of mobile networks of the 4 main operators: Orange, SFR, Free and Bouygues Telecom. We dissect the covers, the speeds and the reception quality of each supplier for you to find out which is the best mobile network in 2022.
- The essential
- Different organizations measure the quality of a mobile network : covers, flows, reception.
- The 4 main operators cover more than 99% of the French population in 3G and 4G.
- Orange has the Best 4G speed of the country and the best reception on the axes of transport.
- In 5g, of Big flow gaps are noted: these figures may change many given the increase in 5G.
What criteria make it possible to define the best mobile network ?
THE mobile networks are broadcast via relay antennas located all over the territory. These antennas emit a 3G, 4G signal and recently 5G through frequency bands. The fluidity and flow of a mobile connection are greatly linked to the quality of reception mobile network.
Since the massive propagation of mobile networks on the territory and the emergence of smartphones, there are today many very complete packages in terms ofData envelope, For use in France or abroad. However, it is important to know the quality of operator mobile network that interests you to be able to make the most of it.
There are generally three criteria to assess a network and identify What is the best mobile network existing :
- THE Cover percentage of a given population or zone.
- THE average rate measured For each mobile network (3G, 4G, 5G).
- There network reception quality : Quality of a call, reception time of an SMS, time of loading a web page, fluidity of reading a video, etc.
ARCEP and ANFR are the two main control and regulatory organizations of telecommunications In France. These authorities regularly analyze mobile networks in the territory. Other organizations, such as nperf, establish barometers of mobile reception and flow rates by operator.
The deployment of mobile networks evolving constantly, it is quite possible that the Best network in France A year is no longer the following year, especially with the increase in 5G.
Which operator has the best 4G network ?
4G is always the most present mobile network in France, since the main operators (Free, SFR, Bouygues and Orange) all cover more 99% of the population in 4G. It is therefore interesting to look at this generation in particular to know which operator holds the Best 4G network.
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Best 4G coverage: comparison
The mobile coverage of a network is a key criterion to assess its quality: without a full coverage of the population, several million inhabitants that simply will not be able to benefit from it.
Two roofing percentages are measured by Arcep : the coverage of the population and the coverage of the territory, the latter being always less because many parts of the territory are entirely uninhabited. Here are the latest coverage figures for the 4G network in mainland France:
| Operator | Population covered in 4G | Territory covered in 4G | Population covered in 3G | 3G covered territory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| More than 99% | 94% | More than 99% | 97% | |
| More than 99% | 93% | More than 99% | 95% | |
| More than 99% | 93% | More than 99% | 93% | |
| 99% | 91% | More than 99% | 93% |
Source: Arcep, at 23/05/2022
THE Best 4G network In terms of absolute coverage is SFR, which covers more than 99% of the population and 94% of the territory in 4G. Orange and Bouygues are just behind while Free, later arrived on the mobile market, is in fourth position with population coverage of exactly 99%. In other words, the coverage differences are minimal.
Note if you are in a Zone without 4G coverage, Then your mobile will automatically rock on 2G or 3G networks if they make a signal in this area.
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Which network has the best 4G speed ?
Having an almost total coverage of the population is good but that is not enough. THE Flower reached in 4G matter as much. Organizations are intended to assess the flow rates and performance of operators, 2G at 5G. This is for example the case of nperf.
This organization collects a multitude of data from mobile connections (or fixed) users. He publishes extensive studies on the measures obtained to assert with precision which has the best 4G speed. Fixed internet speed measures (fiber and ADSL) are also available.
Source: NPERF barometer – Year 2021
Orange and free are in front of SFR and Bouygues in terms of downspout (data receipt) while only Orange stands out for Right flows (sending data online). With average speeds measured from 32 to 60 Mbit/s, We are far from the maximum theoretical speed of 300 Mbit/s that can be reached in 4G/4G+.
THE NPERF score, Expressed in points, gives an overall overview of the quality of the mobile signal: it takes into account the measured flows, the latency and the quality of navigation and the internet streaming. Orange is therefore positioned as number 1 on this network, by offering the best 4G in France.
Debit test at home: how to do ? Go to our debit test page to assess the speed of your fixed or mobile connection. Just click on “Launch the test“and wait a few seconds to obtain your downward flow, upright flow and latency.
The network having the best mobile reception
You have already had good mobile coverage at home, but catastrophic as soon as you go outdoors ? This case often takes place because each mobile network is more or less efficient Depending on the type of place in which we are.
ARCEP analyzed the quality of the mobile network of the four operators in different areas (agglomerations, medium -sized cities and rural areas) and since Three places of transport (Highway, TGV and metros networks).
We note that at the national level, Orange marks a slight advance in terms of Quality of its internet navigation : this is the operator offering the best fluidity and the best flow rates in reception as in emission. Regarding the quality of calls and the reception time of SMS, the battle is much tighter for each population area (municipalities, medium -sized cities or large agglomerations).
Some figures for the signal reception quality in transport networks:
- For the road network (all highways and 20 national metropolitan area), SFR and Bouygues get 94% web navigation fluidity (pages loaded in less than 10 seconds), against 92% for free and 96% for orange.
- For all The TGV lines of France, We have the following results: 69% for Free and SFR, 72% for Bouygues and 81% for Orange.
- Finally, for all national metros, Orange obtains an 88% score while SFR, Bouygues and Free are all three at 85%.
In summary, Orange has the best network coverage in transport places. You can find all of the mobile reception statistics on Monreseaumobile.arcep.Fr .
How to get a quick overview of its mobile reception ? The state of the signal of a network is always indicated via vertical bars Present in the notification bar of your phone or tablet. If all bars are met, The signal is very good. On the other hand, if none is or if a cross appears, it means that you do not capture any mobile network in the surroundings. Solutions exist to improve your mobile reception.
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Which has the best 5G mobile network ?
There 5g represents the latest generation of mobile network, deployed in France since 2018 and whose first compatible packages arrived on the market at the end of 2020. For the moment, this network is far from benefiting from a coverage as complete as that of the 4G network. ARCEP has not yet enough data to establish a percentage of population coverage by operator.
Source: Arcep and NPERF – May 2022
To find out who has the Best 5G mobile network, We can look at the number of antennas deployed on the territory and on the average flows observed by NPERF. Orange, SFR and Bouygues have between 3035 and 6730 5G antennas. Free count more than 13470 antennas Puts into service in mainland France, including nearly 11,000 MHz sites: it is the operator who has far the largest number of branches in France.
However, this figure is to be put into perspective, because a large quantity of antennas does not does not mean high quality mobile network. We can confirm this idea by looking at the rate 5G means noted: Orange and SFR are around the 300 Mbit/s while Bouygues and Free cap at 149 and 128 Mbit/s.
3500 MHz antennas have been deployed exclusively for 5G and are the efficient In terms of flow. The 700 MHz and 2100 MHz relays have a good signal range but have lower flows.
Best mobile network: which is the big winner ?
By synthesizing all types of data, we notice a first thing: very often, deviations are very tight Between the 4 operators, around 2 to 3%. These figures are obtained at the national level: it is therefore difficult to know precisely what is the best mobile network in your town.
Orange stands out slightly In terms of the quality of its mobile signal and its flows. This is what NPERF noted at the end of its barometer:
Orange offered the best mobile internet performance during the first half of 2021. The operator maintains his score and retains an advance on these competitors. Bouygues, Free and SFR remain in the elbow. The battle for second place promises to be tight again by the end of 2021.
NPERF results of the August 2021 barometer
The prices of orange packages are slightly higher than those of competitors, but if you want to benefit from the best telephone network in France, it is to this operator that you have to turn. Free, SFR and Bouygues each have a very developed mobile network with excellent covers and very good flows.
Many attractive packages are available from these operators via the B & YOU range and the Red and Sosh brands. Discover our selection of Best mobile offers from early 2022 For each operator, at the best prices and all compatible 5G !
Here is our selection of 5G packages at the best quality/price ratio:
Frequently asked questions
Is there a better mobile network than another ?
We cannot really answer this question, because who says network says mobile coverage varying from one zone to another. The quality of the coverage is subject to many variables: proximity to a mobile antenna, obstacles, weather or even saturation of the network.
In absolute terms, if you want to know who has the best mobile network in your home or workplace, you should test the coverage of different operators. But as it is not necessarily easy to achieve, it is better to inquire before the antennas present in your area, and which operator holds them.
How is the mobile reception quality assessed ?
The arcep assesses the networks of the various operators according to certain raw statistics, such as the coverage rate of the national population or the territory. But these figures do not necessarily allow the quality of the network (flow, reception, fluidity) in a more advanced manner.
For this, the organization offers further analyzes according to the type of zone (whole country, large agglomerations, small municipalities) and on many criteria (speed of receipt of an SMS, calls maintained 2 minutes without disturbance, flow rates ‘Shipping and average reception, viewing of fluid video, web pages loaded in less than 10 seconds).
The best 5G network ?
It is for the moment difficult to determine who has the best mobile network in terms of 5G, because we do not have specific statistics (when at the population and territory coverage rate) issued by ARCEP, as well as that detailed figures on the quality of mobile reception in different environments (urban areas, less dense areas, public transport, etc.). Free holds the greatest number of antennas in service for 5G, but the number of antennas is not correlated with the quality of a mobile network.
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Updated on 09/21/2023
Passionate about the Technical Universe of Telecoms, Jean started working on Echos du Net in January 2021. His favorite subject ? Articles on themes related to the operator Free.
Orange, SFR, Free, Bouygues Telecom: which has the best 4G and 5G network in 2023 ?
According to the last NPERF performance barometer, Orange is still the operator who offers the best 4G and 5G networks in France. Bouygues Telecom and SFR are just behind and Free Mobile is always in the train.
NPERF has just published its barometer of performance of mobile internet connections for the first half of 2023. To develop its performance classification of each operator in 4G and 5G, the site is based on more than 820,000 tests carried out by the users of the application.
And just like last year, Orange is crowned champion of 4G and 5G in France. The historic operator is the one that offers the best performance on its mobile networks according to the measures made on the NPERF application.
Orange always in the lead
Orange obtains a score of 95,935 NPOINTS on 4G and 5G and is the best in all the measured categories – except the latency where Bouygues Telecom does better than the operator – like downwards and uprights, the success rate, the Web navigation and YouTube video streaming.
The historic operator notably exceeds his competitors by far down descendant flows (download) with an average of 117.94 Mbit/s, a difference of more than 20 Mbit/s compared to Free Mobile, the second on descending flows.
Bouygues Telecom is just behind Orange in the ranking with a score of 91 212 nPoints, followed closely by SFR with a score of 90,521 npoints. As for Free Mobile, he closes the walking with a difference of 5,000 npoints compared to SFR, the third in the ranking.
Zoom on 5G
By focusing on 5G, we notice that the classification changes little with SFR which passes in second place and Bouygues Telecom which is relegated to third place.
Orange subscribers are always those who benefit from the best 5G, especially in terms of flows. The historic operator offers an average descending speed of 366.43 Mbit/s in 5G, in front of SFR with 275.78 Mbit/s and Bouygues Telecom and Free Mobile far behind.
Again, Free Mobile is lagging behind in relation to its competitors and records a score of 105,503 NPOINTS, or more than 15,000 less than the third in the ranking, Bouygues Telecom. It must be said that the operator mainly put on the 700 MHz band to cover the most households in 5G, he is also the leader in terms of coverage and covers more than 90% of the population to date, but he This is the least powerful band offering the least good performance.
Conversely, Orange does not make the coverage his priority but he invests in the 3.5 GHz a sleeping taot offering the best performance in 5G to date.
5G improves in France
Finally, NPERF notes that the average descending speed reaches a new record with an increase of +18%, essentially carried by the tests in 5G. The same phenomenon is observed on the average amount rate which increases by +12% (+1 Mb/s).
Overall, 5G is gradually improving in France, with in particular a drop in latency by around 4% compared to 2022 or the average increase in the point of the quality of web navigation and the quality of video viewing on Youtube.
What is the best 5G package on the market ?
The operators offer several 5G plans each and beyond the performance, other criteria come into play to choose its 5G package according to its needs.
We invite you to consult our complete comparison guide for 5G packages on the market to help you choose the best 5G package for you.
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Best mobile network: 4G and 5G cover comparison
You want to change your mobile plan but before choosing a new operator you want to know which of them offers the Best mobile network ? Discover our comparative guide now on the 4G cover different operators to help you choose the Best mobile network possible !
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- The essential :
- The mobile network of operators involves relay branches to cover an area.
- There 4G covers approximately 92% of the surface of the metropolitan territory and 99% of the population.
- In 4G, Orange stands out slightly from its competitors for the quality of its mobile reception.
- In 5g, real flows vary from 120 to 310 Mbit/s And it is currently hard to decide between operators as this mobile network evolves quickly.
Cover card: find the best mobile network
Contrary to what one can imagine, there is No best operator In France. Indeed, according to your city, your expectations and your needs in terms of service, each operator will offer you different things and what will suit you, may not be the same thing in the case of a person living in the city next to.
This is why you have to find the operator that best covers the places you frequent daily to hope Best 4G coverage possible and one Optimal mobile coverage.
Before choosing an operator and a mobile package, we therefore advise you to Consult our coverage card And to look in detail the operators available in your area. This interactive card is very easy to use. Indeed, you just have to click on the geolocation button to see which operator you can claim in your town. Using the operator filter above the card, you can also Customize your search.
4G mobile coverage card
Operator:
Comparison Best 4G and 5G coverage: Choose your mobile plan
Now that you could see which operator had the Best mobile network In your town or in your workplace, you can choose a new package with the Best mobile coverage. These packages are also compatible 5G. To do this, we have prepared a table with a selection of package 4G and 5G mobiles of the 4 main operators:
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The network and mobile coverage by operator
Mobile networks and cover of operators in France are analyzed each month by theArcep and theAnfer who regularly publish complete observatories about these subjects. They also take up data transmitted by network operators that are Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom and Free to help you Choose the best mobile network And especially the best operator according to your needs.
The 4G mobile coverage in France, all operators combined, is in April 2022 ofapproximately 99% with more than 60,000 mobile antennas authorized including nearly 52,000 in service. As for 5G, we count 33,000 5G branches authorized by ANFR, and more than 24,000 already operational.
The SFR Mobile cover
The SFR operator is present in most cities in France. Indeed, SFR covers 94% of the territory And more than 99% of the population, which makes him the most advanced operator on the market in terms of 4G coverage.
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Bouygues Telecom cover
Bouygues Telecom is almost at the same level as SFR concerning its mobile network and its coverage with it to its credit 93% of the territory and 99% of the population covered.
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Orange coverage
Orange is the historic operator and therefore it covers more than 93% of the territory. Regarding the coverage of the population, Orange is equal with its competitors SFR and Bouygues Telecom by covering 99%.
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Free Mobile cover
Free being the last network operator to have developed on the telecommunications market, which does not prevent it from being as efficient as the other operators on its mobile coverage. Indeed, the operator covers 91% of the territory and 99% of the population.
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What is a mobile telephone network ?
THE mobile telephone network is a network that allows you to use many electronic devices (mobile phones, tablets, etc.) with a LTE chip and access the Internet. The mobile phone network works as well when you are motionless that when you are moving.
In addition, the mobile network uses radio waves And to be able to communicate from a mobile phone, you must be within reach of a cell tower installed by its mobile operator to receive a powerful radio signal powerful.
Little mobile network tip you can know if you are capturing a sufficient signal Looking at the small bars at the top right of your smartphone screen. If they are all present, you have a very good network Which means that your operator is located where you are. If, on the contrary, you have very few bars, or even none, it is that your operator has not yet developed relay antennas at this location. Hence the importance of Choose an operator that has installed mobile antennas Where you live.
When a call is underway from a smartphone, the latter is looking for themobile antenna of its operator the closest to establish a connection and thus allow you to continue your conversation. Telephones are therefore constantly looking for a network antenna viable when you are in motion.
The 4G mobile network
There 4G has been available from main operators for several years now. Its deployment and coverage are, in 2022, in the order of 99% of the metropolitan population: some remote areas are not yet covered. In this case, we are talking about white areas. The territorial coverage of 4G is ofapproximately 93% in February 2022 and Over 31,500 municipalities are currently covered in France.
The mobile network 4G or LTE (Long Term Evolution) offers the possibility to people using it benefit from a very high connection speed, as well as very good reception quality, without cutting. Indeed, the theoretical rate of 4G is to 150 Mbits/s And its maximum real flow is 70 Mbits/s unlike 3G which only allows you to go up to 40 Mbit/s on a device compatible with this network.
In 4G, the use of frequency bands, which are 5 in number, depends on the operator and some of them like Bouygues Telecom or Free do not use the same:
- 2600 MHz: Orange, SFR, Free and Bouygues Telecom.
- 2100 MHz: Orange, SFR and Bouygues Telecom.
- 1800 MHz: Orange, SFR, Free and Bouygues Telecom.
- 800 MHz: Orange, SFR and Bouygues Telecom.
- 700 MHz: Orange, Bouygues Telecom and Free.
What is 4G+ ? As its name suggests, the 4G+, Also called 4G LTE Advanced, is an improved version of 4G. Indeed, it allows flows that can up to 1.2 gbit/s upon stop and 100 mbits/s moving. But in reality, the maximum speeds observed are generally around 200 to 300 Mbit/s, twice those of classic 4G.
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