Free Becomes France’s First Telco to Offer Nationwide 5G Connectivity

Having deployed France’s largest 5G network by number of base stations, Free has announced that it has become the country’s first telco to offer 5G 3.5 GHz SA on its public network on a national scale. By making this cutting-edge mobile communications technology widely available, which requires significant capital expenditure and industrial performance, Free is once again demonstrating its innovation capacity and technology leadership.

Free currently has the largest 5G mobile network in France, with over 20,000 5G sites in service, including 6,950 3.5 GHz sites. Available in almost 10,500 municipalities, it already covers nearly 95% of the French population. 5G SA is the final phase of the development of the 5G network, enabling faster speeds, lower latency, and higher reliability. Its large-scale deployment will allow the full potential of 5G technology to be realized through the massive take-up of new services and 5G applications in many domains, ranging from industry, health, education, and entertainment through to smart cities. 

Free teams have been working for many months on this project, which required the construction of a new core network and the accelerated deployment of a 5G 3.5 GHz network. With 5G SA, Free is also the first telco in France to launch VoNR, which supports voice communication over a 5G network. 

5G SA is available as of now and at no extra cost for subscribers on the 5G Free Mobile Plan. To get it, they need to have a compatible phone and activate the option in their online Subscriber Area. Free already offers a range of phones that are compatible with 5G SA, including Samsung phones that have been tested by Free’s teams.