Parliament must give Wednesday, with a final vote of the Senate, its final endorsement of a proposed law LREM to secure the deployment of 5G, expected as a true revolution in mobile telephony, despite greater vulnerability.
The text, which was the subject of an agreement between deputies and senators in Joint Joint Commission, establishes a new authorization regime prior to the operation of 5G equipment, in order to strengthen the security of these future networks.
The 5G, or fifth generation of standards for mobile network, is the new version of the set of mobile technologies that will allow to take a new step in the level of connectivity, especially for objects.
Allowing the transmission of very large amounts of data much faster than today’s mobile telephony, it promises the development of futuristic technologies. But, on the other side of the coin, the 5G also exposes, by its power, to an unprecedented vulnerability to the risks of espionage or sabotage.
“The text has found a balance,” said Secretary of State for the Economy Agnès Pannier-Runacher with AFP. “It allows to provide France with advanced legislation to ensure its safety on equipment that will be led to drive new uses, such as connected car, such as remote surgery, automated factories,” she said. developed. “At the same time, it should not delay the deployment of the 5G”.
France hopes for a first commercial roll-out in a few major cities by the end of 2020 and coverage of two-thirds of the population by 2026. The 5G frequency allocation procedure for telecom operators was officially launched on 15 July.
In Europe, 5G is available to users in Monaco and San Marino and is starting to be available in Switzerland, Finland, Estonia and the United Kingdom. Worldwide, it has already been launched in the United States and Asia.
Washington has banned Chinese equipment maker Huawei from deploying on US soil, accusing it of being a Trojan horse in Beijing, and asked its main allies, especially European, to dispense with Chinese equipment in their future networks. 5G.
However, the proposal of law in the process of being finally adopted by the French Parliament does not target a particular equipment manufacturer, assured the government.
– A “balanced” text –
The text provides that, prior to any activity of exploitation of certain electrical equipment, the operators will have to send a request for authorization to the Prime Minister, who will make a decision within two months. He may refuse the authorization “if he considers that there is a serious risk of prejudice to the interests of defense and national security”.
The challenge is also in terms of the maintenance of this equipment, says Agnès Pannier-Runacher. “The goal is to ensure that there is no vulnerability, either in maintenance or in upgrading interventions, with subcontractors that might not be reliable, for example.”
It is specified in the text, at the initiative of senators, that this new prior authorization regime does not apply to fourth-generation networks or previous generations.
All groups in the National Assembly approved the agreement reached between deputies and senators, with the exception of the Communists who abstained, regretting a “lack of ambition in matters of security”.
The positive vote of the Senate will be worth final adoption.
Senators are very much in favor of raising the level of network security, even though the Senate majority insisted on preserving a “balance” between security needs and the needs of businesses and users.
In the end, “the text is more balanced than it was in its initial version,” said the chairperson LR of the Economic Affairs Committee of the Senate, Sophie Primas. “It is now up to the government to adopt implementing legislation as soon as possible,” said rapporteur Catherine Procaccia (LR).
