Providers Awarded High-Band Wireless Licenses in France

The French telecommunications authority, Autorite de Regulation des Telecommunications (ART), has awarded high-bandwidth fixed wireless licenses to two parties. The move is expected to help accelerate the proliferation of broadband wireless access services in France.

Teligent and French partners LDCOM Networks and Artemis have been awarded eight regional spectrum licenses to provide high-bandwidth fixed wireless data and voice services in major metropolitan markets throughout France. Priority Wireless, a subsidiary of United-Pan-Europe Communications (UPC), was also awarded one of the two national French fixed wireless licenses.

With coverage in such major business centers as Marseilles, Lyon, Nice, Strasbourg, Sophia and Antipolis, Teligent's licenses will reach 40 percent of the French business market and cover six of the nation's 10 largest cities. Teligent also has partnerships in Germany, Spain, Hong Kong, and Argentina to deliver fixed wireless voice and/or data services using its SmartWave technology. SmartWave networks, built on an ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) platform, are optimized for leveraging fiber-optic networks by extending high-speed data and voice services to areas beyond the reach of fiber.

LDCOM Networks is a major provider of fiber-optic networks and has laid more than 3,000 route kilometers of fiber-optic cable in France, with interconnections to metropolitan rings and networks in Germany, the United Kingdom and Belgium. LDCOM also is laying fiber in Switzerland, and additional infrastructure in Italy and Germany has been acquired.

UPC won its license jointly with Marine-Wendel and NRJ through their consortium Fortel. UPC will be responsible for constructing, managing, and delivering services over the network.

"The French license win represents a significant step in bringing broadband services and competition to France," said Jeff Ross, managing director of Priority Wireless. The license will allow UPC to provide service in over 200 French cities, and it brings the total Priority Wireless footprint to over 100 million people in Europe.