As part of the New Deal Mobile programme, the operator Orange, acting as the lead operator for the deployment of mobile sites on behalf of the four operators (Orange, Bouygues Télécom, Free Mobile and SFR), commissioned a new mobile mast in early March to provide coverage for the municipality of Nançay (Cher).
The commissioning of this site, enabling the four national operators to offer mobile services across most of the municipality of Nançay, is the culmination of a collective effort involving numerous public and scientific stakeholders. Under the coordination of the Cher Prefecture, several partners have made a strong commitment to reconciling the improvement of digital coverage with the protection of scientific activities carried out in Nançay.
The municipality of Nançay was designated by a decree of 27 May 2020 as an area to be covered by national mobile operators under the “targeted coverage” scheme of the “New Deal Mobile”, which provides for the opening of more than 5,000 4G sites in rural areas once these have been officially identified by decree.
The deployment and commissioning of this mobile site required particular care to ensure the protection of the research activities carried out by the Nançay Radio Astronomy Observatory (ORN), a scientific facility for which the municipality of Nançay is renowned both nationally and internationally. Due to the sensitivity of its instruments, the observatory is located within a protection zone defined by ministerial decree, intended to preserve the quality of radioastronomical observations.
To ensure compatibility between the observatory’s operations and the installation of a mobile antenna, a meeting was held on 28 February 2024, under the authority of the Prefect of Cher, with the various stakeholders concerned.
This collective effort led to the launch of an in-depth study, under the supervision of the National Frequency Agency, to examine the possibility of deploying a mobile antenna on the south face of the water tower located along the Souesmes road, between the village of Nançay and the ORN’s facilities.
The ORN has agreed to release the observation frequency bands currently used by the 4G antenna, provided that observations on other frequencies are not adversely affected. Following an initial phase of theoretical study, an in situ trial was conducted from April 2025 onwards, leading to the installation of a mobile site on the water tower in the commune of Nançay with specific settings due to its proximity to the ORN. A detailed observation campaign was carried out, followed by an in-depth analysis by ORN staff and associated researchers.
Thanks to this close cooperation between government departments, scientific authorities, operators and the municipality of Nançay, the area in question now has mobile phone coverage.