Why the 4G network risks being cut in the French countryside

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For several years, a silent and fierce battle has been threatening access to the 4G network in the French countryside. The cause is the arrival of Valocîme, a new entrant among infrastructure managers. By acquiring leases on land housing telecom pylons, the latter is putting pressure on mobile coverage infrastructures, at the risk of causing network outages in rural areas.

A war of pylons in the heart of the French countryside

In France, the arrival of Valocîme has upset the balance in the telecom infrastructure sector. This new player, financed by the American investment fund KKR, offers higher rents to landowners but does not install any telecom towers. Thus, Valocîme kills the competition from infrastructure managers such as Cellnex, TDF or ATC France. Thanks to this strategy, Valocîme obtains the rental rights for the land occupied by these telecom towers, which pushes the “towerco&#8221 historical operators to relocate their infrastructure to avoid legal conflicts.

Problem: In rural areas, moving pylons is particularly risky, since they often cover several mobile phone operators at once.When a mast has to be dismantled or moved, the risk of disconnection for residents becomes greater. Indeed, once the lease has been bought by Valocîme, companies like Cellnex are forced to urgently find new sites to transfer their antennas, sometimes at their own expense and within very tight deadlines. This precariousness puts pressure on the historical players, who are faced with unforeseen expenses and increasingly complex management of coverage in the most remote areas of the territory.

Since the beginning of the year, disputes have multiplied between “towerco” and Valocîme, which has continued to demand the removal of pylons. A situation denounced by Cellnex managers, whose president Thomas Bertrand highlighted the dangers of this instability. ” In some rural areas, we cover the signals of all operators on a single mast,he explains to Le Figaro. Without certain pylons, there would be no more mobile coverage at all in the area, seriously impacting the daily lives of residents. “

The recent case of Vaison-la-Romaine illustrates this “war of the pylon” that local residents sometimes watch helplessly. In this small town in Vaucluse, Cellnex had to move one of its pylons two kilometers to respond to the termination of a lease by Valocîme. This operation, carried out by helicopter, cost around 100,000 euros.

Valocime's strategy, described as “piracy” and “parasitism” by its detractors, consists of recovering leases at the end of the contract to request the eviction of the “towerco”. For Valocîme, these methods are legitimate, because they offer more advantageous rents to landowners and contribute to boosting a sector dominated by a few players. Frédéric Zimer, president of Valocîme, says the company won more than 2,600 leases in 2023, which underlines the legitimacy of its practices.

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On the other hand, for the “towerco”, this increase in disputes constitutes a major challenge, particularly in “white” areas, where the loss of a pylon would mean the total disappearance of mobile connectivity.

Concrete impacts for rural areas

The consequences of these tensions are already visible, particularly in some rural areas where telecommunications infrastructure is limited. In Ardèche, Ain, and Gard, residents regularly find themselves without a network due to rental disputes. In some municipalities in Bas-Rhin, for example, the temporary removal of pylons has led to more or less long-term coverage failures, disrupting users' daily lives.

The situation is all the more problematic since network coverage in rural France has historically been uneven.While 4G and 5G connectivity is progressing rapidly in urban areas, rural areas are often left behind. For residents, the disappearance of a pylon represents a direct impact on their quality of life, while alternative solutions are not readily available. In addition, moving or rebuilding a pylon takes time and requires considerable funding, which worsens the digital divide between cities and the countryside.

The Cellnex manager is also concerned about the lack of resources to compensate for this ”  … According to him, the company has already spent millions of euros to maintain coverage of the territories, but the situation could become untenable if the expulsions continue.

The anthem of our countryside

Faced with this situation, the government and institutions are beginning to react.The French Telecoms Federation, aware of the impacts on national coverage, is working on legislative proposals to regulate the acquisition of telecom leases. The 2021 Reen law and a draft economic simplification law, currently under discussion in Parliament, aim to strengthen the obligations of lessors by requiring them to obtain agreements with operators before installing any pylon. These measures could limit speculation around telecom land, thus slowing down the actions of players such as Valocîme.

These new regulations do not prevent Valocîme from pursuing its strategy. Frédéric Zimer, who denounces infringements of property rights, says he is ready to take the matter to the Council of State.If the legislation in preparation only applies to future contracts, the problem of the thousands of leases already acquired by Valocîme remains. The telecoms federation hopes, however, that this new regulation will limit the undesirable effects and offer a more secure framework for all stakeholders.

• The company Valocîme is buying up leases, causing the displacement of pylons and threatening 4G coverage in rural areas.
• The risk of network outages is being felt, particularly in “white zones”, affecting thousands of users.
• The government is preparing laws to regulate these practices and limit land speculation around telecoms pylons.

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