Arcep said it has awarded a total of 81 trial licenses since March 2022

French regulator Arcep said it will extend an ongoing trial platform in the 3.8 – 4.0 GHz band for manufacturers and market players wanting to experiment and test new 5G use cases.

The regulator had initially launched this trial platform in March 2022, with the main aim of enabling industry players to appropriate 5G-related technologies, and public-sector players to construct a regulatory framework tailored to these needs.

Arcep said it has awarded a total of 81 trial licenses since March 2022, as part of its trial platform.

“Arcep considers this trial platform to be a success, noting the diversity of the stakeholders involved, covering an array of economic sectors, including manufacturing, energy and health and special events, and this in several regions in Metropolitan France,” the regulator said in a release.

Arcep is extending the availability of this platform until December 31, 2024 to enable additional trials and, if applicable, to extend current trials.

“Arcep has observed a still steady demand for conducting trials on 5G use cases employing the 3.8 – 4.0 GHz frequency band, which is why it is extending the availability of this platform for one more year, up to 31 December 2024. The awards procedure for licenses to use this trial platform will remain identical,” the regulator said.

Mobile operator Orange has three trial licenses in total, in Charbonnières-les-Bains, Balma and Paris for testing standalone 5G (SA) edge and slicing mechanisms with developers for, respectively, enterprise use cases, connected and autonomous vehicles, and video capture for “major events”. Rival operator  Bouygues Telecom has one license, in Meudon et Boulogne-Billancourt, to test connected industries solutions.

Meanwhile, NTT is testing its private 5G solution for enterprises in Parisot, in southern France, while its French-based stablemate Transatel has a license to test private/public 5G roaming in the north, in Puteaux. As well, Schneider Electric has a license in Grenoble for factory operations, Alsatis has one in Toulouse for the European transport sector, French research organization CEA has one in Palaiseau for to develop AR/VR for Industry 4.0, and EDF has one in Palaiseau for testing AR in the energy sector.

Other companies carrying out trials include Thales, Ericsson, Qualcomm, ArcelorMittal France, Nokia, Haventure, Airbus, Axians, SNCF, ILS Technologies, Capgemini and IHU Strasbourg.