France’s independent telecoms regulator, National Agency of Frequencies (ANFR), has published its monthly update on the number of 2G, 3G and 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) base transceiver stations (BTS) in the country, and reports that it authorized 15,659 sites for LTE use, by June 1, 2014, up 4.5 percent month-on-month. Of these BTS’s, 13,382 are currently in service.

Orange France, the country’s leading cellco by subscribers, has authorization for 4,884 BTS’s in the 2.6-GHz frequency band, with 4,775 of them in service. Of its permitted 3,223 BTS’s in the 800-MHz band, 3,132 are operational, Telegeograohy.com reports.

At the same time, SFR has authorization to build 3,756 4G-enabled sites in the 800-MHz and 2.6-GHz frequency bands, with 2,282 of them already operational. On the other hand, Free Mobile has just 1,360 BTS’s in operation, out of 2,243 authorized in the 2.6GHz band. Over at Bouygues Telecom, the only French mobile operator licensed for LTE services in the 1,800-MHz band, there are 6,530 LTE-enabled sites (5,579 of them in service), but only 1,495 of its 4,603 BTS’s in the 800-MHz and 2.6-GHz bands are said to be operational.

In the month covered by ANFR’s update, the number of 3G sites in France increased marginally to 38,580 BTS’s by June 1, up from 38,485, on May 1, while the number of 2G-enabled sites reached 38,884, which was practically flat, compared to the 38,849 reported a month earlier