France’s economy ministry has published a draft decree for consultation, which forms part of the country’s strategy to boost industrial 5G. As announced in March, the government has been considering its response to the set of recommendations made earlier this year by Philippe Herbert, president of the “Mission 5G Industrielle” (Industrial 5G Mission). This advice included a revision of the cost to access 2.6 GHz frequencies, described as “prohibitive” for most industrial stakeholders. In the draft decree, the government is proposing to replace the current annual charge of around EUR 70,000 with a new calculation method.

Based on the planned approach, the licence fees will vary according to the surface area where the spectrum will be used. To this end, the government has set seventeen price tiers ranging from the smallest sites (0-0.3 square kilometres) to the largest areas (over 300,000 square kilometres). This compares with the current single annual charge for authorisations covering up to 100 square kilometres.

Original article can be seen at: