2022 marked a take-off in the use of 5G in France, observes the telecoms regulator. 8.2 million SIM cards were seen on next-generation mobile phone networks.
It has been two years since 5G was officially launched in France, embarking the four main operators in a new competition to conquer the mobile telephony market. With two promises for the general public, if they agree to embark on this new generation network: more speed and less latency.
2022, year of 5G take-off?
Two years later, it is not yet the rush to 5G, but it has just passed an important milestone in the fourth quarter of 2022. Indeed, it is during this period that the cap of 10% of cards active in 5G has been crossed. The news was announced by the telecoms regulator on April 6, 2023, in a milestone.
Reduced to the number of SIM cards actually operational in France, this percentage turns out to be rather high. There were 82.7 million SIM cards as of December 31, 2022, including 75 million packages. There can be several SIM cards for the same package held by a single person, which explains this discrepancy with the number of inhabitants in France.
It therefore had, at the end of 2022, 8.2 million active 5G SIM cards in France. A number which is increasing rapidly, according to Arcep, with a gain of 2 million for the fourth quarter of 2022 alone. highest growth » for the arrival of 5G in December 2020 – and +5.2 million over the year. 2022 appears to be a take-off year compared to 2021.
The switchover of the entire network to 5G must be completed around 2030 – by then, the 2G and 3G networks will have been shut down and the frequencies recycled in favor of mobile ultra-broadband. A milestone is expected in 2025, with at least two thirds of the population covered by 5G. Maps exist to see where the relay antennas are.
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