Mobile coverage of the Grand Paris Express: Cellnex connects the Saint-Denis – Pleyel station

• At the end of 2021, Cellnex France was commissioned by the Société des grands projets to provide mobile coverage for all stations/tunnels on lines 16 and 17 of the Grand Paris Express, including the Saint-Denis – Pleyel station.
• Users of the Saint-Denis – Pleyel station will benefit from multi-operator 4G and 5G mobile coverage from June 24, 2024, when the extension of line 14 of the Paris metro enters service, thanks to the indoor broadcasting system deployed by Cellnex.
• In 2031, the Saint-Denis – Pleyel station will be host lines 14, 15, 16 and 17 of the Grand Paris Express.
• Three telephone operators are already present: Bouygues Télécom, SFR and Free Mobile.

Boulogne-Billancourt, June 24, 2024 – Cellnex connects the Saint-Denis – Pleyel station with 3G, 4G and 5G. Thanks to its indoor broadcasting system, station users will benefit from multi-operator mobile coverage from 24 June 2024.

Indoor mobile coverage at Saint-Denis – Pleyel station: a major challenge

The opening of the Saint-Denis – Pleyel station is part of the extension of Line 14 of the Paris metro. It will be a major asset for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, facilitating travel for the thousands of visitors and athletes expected for the event, and then for all travelers in the Paris region.

With an obligation to open for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the ambition to become a key hub in the Paris region, the indoor mobile coverage of the Saint-Denis – Pleyel station represented a major challenge to be met in terms of technicality, integration and meeting deadlines. It was not only a technical challenge, but also one of coordination between all the trades involved in this major project.

Highly technical and multi-operator coverage

The Distributed Antenna System (DAS) solution chosen by Cellnex has been dimensioned to broadcast operator signals on 3G/4G and 5G frequencies, offering the capacity expected by each operator’s subscribers while reducing space and energy requirements.

All four operators are expected to broadcast their mobile signals. To date, the mobile signals of three operators are already available to users of Bouygues Télécom, SFR and Free Mobile.

Connecting the Grand Paris Express

Société des grands projets is determined to integrate a digital infrastructure as soon as the Grand Paris Express is commissioned, to offer passengers universal access to social networks, the professional environment and all digital services, with a quality of experience combining innovation, comfort and security.

At the end of 2021, Cellnex, Europe’s leading independent telecom infrastructure operator, has been commissioned by the Société des grands projets to provide all mobile operators with a passive infrastructure enabling them to offer their connectivity services in all stations and tunnels between Saint-Denis – Pleyel and Noisy-Champs (Line 16) and Paris Charles-de-Gaulle airport (Line 17).

Relying on its proven experience in Europe in the connectivity of special areas (offices, metro, tunnels, stadiums, shopping malls, hotels, etc.), Cellnex has launched the deployment phase of the passive infrastructure in 2023, consisting of a Distributed Antenna System (DAS) based on a BTS Hotel architecture that will enable operators to broadcast their signal via 1,000 radio transmission devices.

With the opening of the metro line 14 extension, the Saint-Denis – Pleyel station is one of the first stations of the Grand Paris Express to be brought into service. It benefits from multi-operator mobile coverage ranging from 3G to 5G. This is a pioneering project in terms of 4G/5G deployment in the metro.

Further deployments to come

Cellnex is aligned with the schedule set by the Société des grands projets, and will continue to deploy its services in four phases, with the following deadlines T4 2026, T4 2028, T4 2030. As Cellnex has already validated a large part of its radio design and BIM models, deployment in the ancillary structures to cover Lines 16 and 17 will start as early as October 2024, after the Paralympic Games.

As a national operator capable of meeting all indoor and outdoor coverage requirements, Cellnex intends to continue deploying such technologies in other French cities, beyond the Grand Paris Express and its partnership with Société des grands projets.

About Cellnex Telecom

Cellnex is Europe’s largest telecommunications towers and infrastructures operator, enabling operators to access a wide network of telecommunications infrastructures on a shared-use basis, and thus helping to reduce access barriers and to improve services in the most remote areas. The company manages a portfolio of more than 138,000 sites, including forecast roll-outs up to 2030, in 12 European countries, with a significant footprint in Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Poland. Cellnex, which is listed on the Spanish Stock Exchange, is part of the selective IBEX35 and Euro Stoxx 100 and enjoys outstanding positions on the main sustainability indices such as CDP, Sustainalytics, FTSE4Good, MSCI and DJSI Europe.

Created in July 2016, Cellnex France, a subsidiary of Cellnex Telecom, is a major player in telecommunications in France and manages more than 28,000 high points in France in its own right, serving its “mobile operators” customers to enable them to install their active equipment under optimum conditions. Cellnex operates its high points in France through its subsidiaries Cellnex France, On Tower France and Hivory. Through its subsidiary Nexloop, Cellnex France is deploying the future third fiber optic network (30,000 kilometers) and over a hundred local data centers throughout France.