Arcep examining amendments to Bouygues-SFR network sharing deal to include 5G

French telecoms regulator Arcep has informed the public that it is currently examining three amendments to the January 2014 network sharing agreement (Crozon agreement) between Bouygues Telecom and SFR, inviting all interested parties to submit their comments by 26 May 2023. The amendments – which comprise the expansion of the existing network sharing deal to include 5G and a new increase in shared network density with the addition of new cell sites – were submitted for approval to the regulator in January 2023.

The original deal was inked in January 2014 for a period of 20 years and initially pertained to 2G/3G/4G networks over a large portion of Metropolitan France, with a temporary 4G roaming solution. Bouygues Telecom and SFR amended their agreement in 2016 to include a trajectory for gradually phasing out 4G roaming by the end of 2018.