The 5G of Free Elected Best Coverage of France according to NPERF, 5G coverage: the state of the mobile network on the territory and the 5G coverage card
5G coverage: the state of the mobile network in the territory and the 5G coverage card
You should know that a large majority of 5G branches are located on locations where 2G, 3G and 4G antennas were already in service. Only 5 sites out of 34061 exclusively only 5G.
The free mobile operator elected best 5G network in France according to NPERF
Free Mobile is awarded a major honorary title. The operator is elected Best 5G mobile network coverage from France over the year 2022 according to the NPERF coverage index. Xavier Niel’s firm therefore takes a big step forward and consolidates its place among the leaders of the mobile telephony market. The barometer of the coverage measured in France is therefore without appeal according to NPERF. What about competition ? Free mobile can become the main operator in France ? Back on this striking fact concerning mobile telephony.
Free Mobile, new 5G leader in France ?
The announcement made by NPERF confirms or even strengthen Free’s position on the market. The mobile operator is assessed as having the best 5G network coverage of the country. Considered the market for the market, in particular by the Historical Orange, SFR and Bouygues Telecom, Free operators here has appreciable recognition.
Free offers wide network coverage in 5g.
The study was conducted throughout the year 2022 out of 85,290 devices in mainland France and regions. At the end of a merciless struggle between operators on The deployment of 5G, So it’s free who won the setting. In other words, the operator has the largest number of network antennas throughout the territory.
The NPERF score is final, since Free Mobile is far ahead of his competitors. In 2022, the Free Mobile network coverage index in 5G is 52.08%, compared to 37.72% for Bouygues Telecom and 36.35% for SFR. Orange is now 4th in this ranking, with 26.97%. A little surprise, given the domination of the historic operator on the 4G network.
Also read what is the network (4G / 5G) network coverage of operators in the mountains and in ski resorts ?
Large network coverage in France, guaranteeing quality ?
Free’s advantage lies more in its quantitative capacity than qualitative. Free Mobile has bet on a strong presence of antennas throughout the territory. However, the frequencies of these antennas are sometimes the lower market on the market. This means that Free network coverage is certainly the most extensive, but not necessarily the most efficient.
Orange, Bouygues Telecom and SFR have this argument to thwart free plans. Their 5G network antennas are fewer, but the proposed speed is higher. Almost all of the network antennas offered by Free are on the 700 MHz band, the weakest on the standard and offering the lowest flow rate. However, they remain easier to deploy. A mobile flow test can make it possible to precisely determine the speed of the Internet connection.
This mainly explains Free’s considerable advance on historical leaders in mobile telephony. A strategic choice of the Xavier Niel firm to climb to the top of the market. Besides, the operator claims to be “the largest 5G network in France”, which is not to the taste of competition. For Orange, the frequency bands used by Free offer “improved 4G” according to Stéphane Richard, former boss of Orange.
In summary, the news around the 5G mobile network is as follows:
- Free is elected wider 5G network from France;
- Network coverage much higher than Orange, SFR and Bouygues Telecom;
- the operator is betting on the quantity with low frequency antennas, but many.
Read also 4G and 5G Key: What offer to choose and how they work ?
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5G coverage: the state of the mobile network in the territory and the 5G coverage card
Operators are now focusing on 5G to best cover French territory. We tell you in our article the latest statistics of 5G coverage and its deployment. You can also interact with the 5G coverage card to discover the antennas put into service all over the country and to find out if you are covered by 5G of one or more operators.
- The essential
- There 5G coverage in France accelerated in 2022, with hundreds of antennas deployed per month.
- The data is not yet sufficient to have 5G network coverage percentages.
- These are above all the big cities and the most urban areas which benefit from a good 5G signal.
- Which operator has the Best 5G coverage ? Difficult for the moment to decide between a winner: the levels of coverage vary mainly from one region to another.
5G coverage card: Discover your mobile coverage
ARCEP has a mobile network coverage updated. Find below:
To view the presence of antennas via this 5G France cover card, it’s necessary :
- Click on the icon With three bar at the top left of the card, then on the 5G icon in the window that has just appeared.
- Zoom on the card Using your mouse or Indicate an address or a city In the insert at the top right.
- Locate 5G acronyms and pass your slider on it to display the Frequency bands concerned and the operator who holds this antenna.
- Black acronyms are issuers 3.5 GHz, Those in green are in 2.1 GHz While blue acronyms represent transmitters 700 MHz.
There is currently no sufficient data to have a precise idea of the 5G coverage of the area of the territory, such as this is the case for 3G and 4G. It is therefore difficult to estimate with precision what would be your 5G coverage if a branch is not far from your home. For the moment we only have this 5G antenna card.
There Reception quality of a mobile network depends on many factors other than the distance between your smartphone and the 5G transmitter. Weather conditions, physical obstacles (walls, trees, relief) and the characteristics of your phone are other criteria impacting positively or negatively a mobile signal.
Via this card, it is possible to see 3G and 4G coverage overseas territories, by clicking on the corresponding icon on the left.
Discover our selection of the best 5G packages of the moment with the four major operators on the market:
5G coverage in France in 2022
The 5G mobile network is the very latest generation of cellular network redefining the use of smartphones thanks to ever higher flows, which can exceed 1 Gbit/s. Its deployment began at the end of the 2010s in France and has been accelerating since 2020.
The monitoring of the expansion of 5G in France is done thanks to theAnfer and theArcep, the two telecommunications regulatory authorities in France. Each month, a new report is published by the ANFR to indicate the All latest figures for the deployment of 5G. In parallel, a 5G coverage card can be viewed on the Arcep website.
As of June 1, 2022, we count 34061 Antennas 5G disseminated on metropolitan territory. These are the sites authorized by the ANFR: this means that they are not yet all in service. Regarding operational 5G branches, the total amounts to 24949.
You should know that a large majority of 5G branches are located on locations where 2G, 3G and 4G antennas were already in service. Only 5 sites out of 34061 exclusively only 5G.
In Oversea territories, 5G is still almost nonexistent, even if deployment projects have been announced by operators like free. There are currently only 46 5G branches issued overseas.
| Given | Statistical |
|---|---|
| Authorized 5G branches | 34061 |
| 5G branches in service | 24949 |
| 5G 700 MHz antennas | 19660 |
| Antennas 5G 2100 MHz | 14127 |
| 5G 3500 MHz antennas | 18557 |
Updated on 06/15/2022
5G antennas operate on three very different frequencies:
- There 700 MHz band, Used only by Free to deploy its 5G network.
- There 2100 MHz band, used by the other three operators for 5G.
- There 3500 MHz band, Used by the four operators.
You have to know one thing: the 700 and 2100 MHz bands are bands already used for the 4G network and reused by operators in order to disseminate a 5G signal. On the contrary, the 3.5 GHz band is exclusively reserved for the 5G network : its higher frequency allows a more powerful signal but lower range.
A smartphone capturing a 5g signal issued from a 3.5 GHz antenna will have, on equal conditions, higher flow that if it captured a 5g signal issued by a 700 or 2100 MHz antenna.
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5g Cover: How the mobile network is deployed ?
You should know that only the four major telecom operators in France, SFR, Bouygues, Free and Orange, deploy the 5G network in our country. THE Small MVNO operators Use one of the four networks and rely on their already existing 5G infrastructure to offer their packages. This is the case of Coriolis, Nordnet, NRJ Mobile, Prixtel, Auchan Telecom, Cdiscount Mobile or Réglo Mobile.
The 5G frequencies (for the 3.5 GHz band) were allocated by ARCEP to the four operators via auction. Thus, each operator has a frequency range within this band to Distribute its 5G network.
The newly installed 5G antennas are very advanced compared to those of the 4G network: they can stand up If no 5G device is detected in the surroundings, to save energy. The scope of 5G (for the 3.5 GHz band) is estimated to Only a few kilometers.
Arcep must validate each new project to commission a 5G site, Following a study. The organization then delivers its authorization to the operator to commercially put it into service and disseminate its 5G signal to subscribed users.
Which operator has the best 5G coverage ?
Unlike 4G, whose coverage is easier to determine thanks to its longevity in the territory (we have exact percentages of coverage by operator for all of France), it is still difficult to decide between 5G coverage different operators to estimate who has the best network.
Two data allow for the moment to have an idea of the level of coverage of each operator:
- THE Number of 5G branches and of covered municipalities by operator.
- THE Real rate 5G measured by institutes like nperf.
In the table below, you can view the detail of the 5G antennas authorized for the different operators:
| Data | FREE 5G cover | Orange 5G coverage | SFR 5G cover | Bouygues 5G cover |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Authorized 5G sites | 13470 | 3035 | 4984 | 6730 |
| 700 MHz sites | 11086 | |||
| 2100 MHz sites | 337 | 2156 | 4041 | |
| 3500 MHz sites | 2384 | 2698 | 2828 | 2689 |
Updated on 06/15/2022.
As we can note, Free has 2.5 to 4 times more 5G antennas that the other operators, but beware: it is clear that the operator has more than 11,000 700 MHz antennas, less effective than 3500 MHz antennas. It is SFR that holds the most 5G antennas based on the 3.5 GHz band.
However, counting the total antennas 3500 MHz or all frequencies is not completely relevant: it is more interesting to consult the 5G coverage card above to locate them closest 5G sites from your place.
The 5G real speeds measured by the NPERF barometer for the year 2021 indicate 149 Mbit/s For Bouygues, 321 Mbit/s For Orange, 128 Mbit/s For Free and 308 Mbit/s For SFR.
Details of the 5G coverage by operator
The 5G SFR cover
The operator at the Red Square began the development of its 5G in May 2018. It has 4,984 5G branches spread across the entire territory, including 2,828 3.5 GHz transmitters. A SFR 5G cover card is available on the operator’s website.
5G free cover
The operator, who had arrived on the mobile market in 2012, has the best 5G coverage in the territory (in number of transmitters), with more 13400 5G antennas in service. Free announces Cover 79% of the metropolitan population.
A single 5G package is available at Free: this is the unlimited package at € 19.99, unchanged for many years. With this package, you have 210 GB of data in 5G in France (and the envelope is unlimited for Freebox subscribers).
Orange 5G coverage
Orange is the operator holding the larger number of 3.5 GH antennasz, those which are the most optimized for 5G and which allow to have the fastest signal. The operator claims to focus first on the areas where 4G is predominant in order to provide support thanks to its 5G network.
Bouygues 5G coverage
Having 6,700 5G antennas In June 2022, Bouygues had the second largest number of 5G sites in France after free. Its 5G network covers more than 3000 municipalities, including 38 large cities.
You can check your Bouygues 5G cover Via the card available on its site: the distinction between 3.5 GHz bands and 2.1 GHz bands is clearly visible depending on the zones.
Bouygues launched in June 2022 the first 5G Bouygues box accessible to individuals, at the rate of € 39.99/month without commitment.
The B & You range also contains a special series 130 GB 5G without commitment, at a price of € 24.99/month.