Posted on Feb 13, 2019 2021 at 8:00
Bordeaux and its rum cannelés, its wine… and its 5G. SFR and Bouygues Telecom both have just “turned on” the new mobile generation in the Bordeaux capital. However, a few months ago, the city’s mayor Europe Ecologie Les Verts (EELV), Pierre Hurmic, vituperated – like many other green or left-wing municipalities – against this technology.
“I find it totally unacceptable that we can impose 5G without explaining, without discussing, without seeing what the aspirations of the inhabitants are, explained the mayor in June on RTL. I don’t like imposed techniques. 5G deserves a real debate, we must tell our fellow citizens what the dangers of 5G are. “
Bordeaux is not an isolated case in France. Grenoble, Marseille … Several other regional metropolises wary, even hostile to 5G, because of its potential consequences on health or the environment, have finally let operators launch it. “Little by little, we are able to open up 5G in emblematic cities” remark, relieved, an operator.
Moratorium
SFR and Bouygues Telecom, for example, have deployed 5G in Lyon despite the opposition of the mayor EELV, Grégory Doucet. In September, the councilor had signed, with 60 other elected officials, a forum in the “JDD” to demand a moratorium on this technology. “At least until summer 2021”, time to organize “A decentralized democratic debate on 5G”.
Orange, for its part, announced that Strasbourg would be covered soon while the city EELV was also in favor of a moratorium. “Citizen forums shouldn’t last for months either, recently released Stéphane Richard, CEO of the operator. The time for consultation is coming to an end. It’s time to speed up deployments. “
If operators were able to launch 5G, it is because certain public consultations have ended. “In Montreuil or Strasbourg, for example, they went very well, remarks Nicolas Guérin, president of the French Telecoms Federation (which brings together all operators except Free). There aren’t any truly pro-5G mayors just yet, but anti-5G mayors have become less vocal as 5G becomes more concrete. There is also little recourse. “
Of the approximately 20,000 5G antennas authorized by the National Frequency Agency (ANFR), 9,500 are operational. And only four, according to the Federation, are the subject of a dispute between the mayors who refused them and the prefects who are now examining the legality of their decisions.
Relief
For operators, this is a relief. At the end of 2020, Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom and Free spent almost € 3 billion to buy the precious 5G frequencies. Problem, these auctions took place a few months after the “green wave” of the municipal elections in the spring. And in the meantime, 5G had already become an eminently political subject …
However, operators could hardly make a return on this investment as long as these large regional cities were politically blocking 5G. Because from a strictly legal point of view, the mayors cannot oppose the arrival of a new pylon. They just need to be informed. And then, only the Town Planning Code allows them to oppose a pylon.
In the event of refusal, the operators can contest this decision before the Administrative Court. But since this procedure slows things down even further, operators and town halls generally prefer to resolve things upstream through consultation.
Double political game
The operators therefore took their troubles patiently and waited until the end of the consultations or citizens’ debates to turn on their networks. “To pass in force, it is out of the question, assures Benoît Torloting, Deputy CEO of Bouygues Telecom. Because behind the apprehensions of some mayors, there are in fact very broad societal phenomena to be taken into account. “
The dialogue continues in Nantes, Rennes, Lille and Paris. In the fall, the Lille metropolitan area adopted a moratorium freezing deployments at least until the publication of the report of the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES). Commissioned by three ministries including Bercy, it must study the impact of 5G waves on health and deliver its conclusions before spring.
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