For several years, a silent and fierce battle has threatened access to the 4G network in the French countryside. In question, the arrival of Valocîme, a new entrant among infrastructure managers. The latter, by acquiring leases of land housing telecoms pylons, puts pressure on mobile coverage infrastructure, at the risk of causing network outages in rural areas.
A war of the pylons in the heart of the French countryside
In France, the arrival of Valocîme has upset the balance in the telecoms 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 is killing competition from infrastructure managers like Cellnex, TDF or ATC France. Thanks to this strategy, Valocîme obtains the rental rights to the land occupied by these telecoms pylons, which pushes the historic “towercos” to relocate their infrastructures to avoid legal conflicts.
Problem: in rural areas, moving pylons is particularly risky, since they often cover several mobile operators at once. When a mast must be dismantled or moved, the risk of cuts for residents becomes greater. Indeed, once the lease is 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 historical players, faced with unforeseen expenses and increasingly complex management of coverage in the most remote areas of the territory.
Since the start of the year, disputes have multiplied between the “towerco” and Valocîme, which continues to demand evictions of pylons. A situation denounced by those responsible for Cellnex, whose president Thomas Bertrand underlined the dangers of this instability. “In some rural areas, we cover the signals of all operators on a single mast, he explains at Figaro. Without certain pylons, there is no 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 pylons” to which 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.
Valocîme’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 help to boost 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.
On the other hand, for “towercos”, this multiplication of 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 certain rural areas where telecommunications infrastructure is limited. In Ardèche, Ain, and even Gard, residents regularly find themselves deprived of the network following rental conflicts. In certain municipalities in Bas-Rhin, for example, the temporary removal of pylons has led to coverage failures of varying duration, thus disrupting the daily lives of users.
The situation is all the more problematic since network coverage in the French countryside is historically uneven. While 4G and 5G connectivity is progressing at high speed in urban areas, rural areas often lag behind. For residents, the disappearance of a pylon represents a direct attack on their quality of life, while alternative solutions are not easily available. In addition, moving or rebuilding a tower takes time and requires considerable funding, which worsens the digital divide between cities and the countryside.
The director of Cellnex is also concerned about the insufficient means to compensate for this “war of the pylons”. 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 campaigns
Faced with this situation, the government and institutions are starting to react. The French Telecoms Federation, aware of the impacts on national coverage, is working on legislative proposals to regulate the acquisition of telecoms leases. The Reen Law of 2021 and an economic simplification bill, currently under discussion in Parliament, aim to strengthen the obligations of landlords by requiring that they obtain agreements with operators before any tower installation. These measures could limit speculation around telecoms areas, thus slowing down the actions of players like Valocîme.
These new regulations do not prevent Valocîme from pursuing its strategy. Frédéric Zimer, who denounces violations of property rights, claims to be ready to take the subject to the Council of State. If the legislation in progress only applies to future contracts, the problem of the thousands of leases already acquired by Valocîme remains unresolved. The telecoms federation, however, hopes that this new regulation will be able to limit undesirable effects and provide a more secure framework for all players.
- The Valocîme company buys up leases, causing the movement of pylons and threatening 4G coverage in rural areas.
- The risk of network outages is 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.
