The French telecoms industry is set to undergo many changes in 2009: Arcep this summer will outline regulations for the deployment of FTTH in buildings and the government is due to finally award the fourth 3G licence before the end of the year, for starters.
Meanwhile any new mobile network operator will be attempting to build a 3G network amid growing public concern about the health hazards of mobile network antennas atop buildings: Earlier this month a court in Versailles ruled that France's third operator, Bouygues Telecom, must take down an antenna due to uncertainty about its effect on health.
In an interview with Total Telecom during Mobile World Congress this week, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, who was named French secretary of state for strategic studies and the development of the digital economy in January this year, outlined how she plans to address public health concerns related to mobile network deployment and stimulate investment in high-speed broadband beyond France's major cities by making it easier for local authorities to form private-public broadband investment partnerships.
The most difficult political balancing act for Kosciusko-Morizet is likely to be that of addressing both public concern over the health impact of mobile antennas and the need for mobile operators - and in particular a new entrant - to continue building networks. In her former position as secretary of state for ecology, Kosciusko-Morizet was lauded by environmentalists and was in charge of drafting laws that restricted mobile phone advertising and the distribution of phones to young children. Some in the French telecoms industry question what Kosciusko-Morizet's stance will be now she is in charge of telecoms.
"My position is the same," said Kosciusko-Morizet. "When I was in ecology I oversaw the creation of a law related to the usage of telephones by children that forbid advertisements on phones designed for the under twelves and enabled the health minister to forbid equipment designed for children under the age of six."
She added that there would be a vote on that law in the autumn. However, she is keeping an open mind on the question of antennas: "From a scientific perspective there is more concern about terminals than the impact of antennas," she said
But she conceded that "there is an undeniable [public] concern about network antennas. Even if there is no scientific foundation ... these concerns are part of everyone's life and I find it normal to listen to them," said Kosciusko-Morizet.
As a result the government will hold a roundtable on 19 March in an effort to reach an agreement on the issue. A consensus on the issue should benefit operators, too, contended Kosciusko- Morizet, since property owners are increasingly reluctant to let them install antennas on buildings.
"Even if [people] are not worried about their health, then they are worried about the value of their property. The time has come to put everyone around the table and reach an agreement. It's never been done in France," said Kosciusko-Morizet.
Possible solutions include encouraging network sharing between operators, or clarifying what constitutes a safe level of antenna usage, which currently varies greatly between EC countries, she says.
Network sharing, for example, could help manage public perception of the problem.
"It is visual above all, and not necessarily related to network power," said Kosciusko-Morizet. If there is no consensus, then the government will consider passing a law.
"I would prefer an agreement, but a parliamentary law could be proposed," she said.
The new secretary of state is also interested in the role technology can play in stimulating economic growth during a downturn.
France has taken a relative lead on FTTH regulation and on Monday the GSM Association awarded France "The Government Leadership" award for allocating digital dividend spectrum for mobile usage and for authorising mobile operators to offer broadband services in the 900-MHz frequency band.
Nevertheless France has come under criticism for not moving fast enough on broadband. Last year the French government published a plan to provide broadband for all that stipulates a minimum speed of 512 Kbps at a maximum price of 35 euros per month by 2012. Last week the Conseil Economique et Social called for the minimum speed to be set at 2 Mbps and for 10 billion euros of public funding to be invested in very high-speed broadband networks.
Kosciusko-Morizet, who this week is in Japan and Korea to examine the extent to which technology can play a role in easing an economy out of a recession, did not say she would create a new floor for broadband universal service.
"We don't want a two-speed system whereby some have nothing while others have 50 Mbps" she said. "512 Kbps is the [bare] minimum. You can't talk about very high-speed broadband when 1 million to 2 million French people don't even have Internet," she said.
Instead the French government, she explained, will change legislation to allow local authorities to use public funds to make minority investments in broadband networks. "Up until now a local authority faced an all-or-nothing choice," said Kosciusko-Morizet: Either it accepted public funding on the basis that it became a network operator, or it refused money available.
Ideally there will be a spurt of serious investment in FTTH, which has been largely frozen in the last two years while operators awaited regulatory clarity. Yet the industry will be financing FTTH amid a financial crisis; even in the good times there was little expectation that private industry would roll out FTTH beyond the centres of major cities and a few suburbs of Paris.
In addition the French government's economic stimulus plan will require any new construction that benefits from public aid to be pre-cabled with fibre. Separately, as of 2010, all buildings with more than 25 dwellings must be pre-cabled.
Lastly Kosciusko-Morizet wants to change public perception of technology and focus on its social usefulness, rather than on gadgets.
"I want to rebalance things and show the utility of technology: home-working, e-administration [e-health], which hasn't been the tradition in this role. It's the feminine side," said Kosciusko-Morizet.