France and Germany have taken contrasting approaches to 5G spectrum so far. Germany was quicker to kick off auctions and its regulator, BNetza, took the radical steps of earmarking some airwaves for private industrial use, to the chagrin of the MNOs, which claim this strategy has inflated spectrum prices and made it harder for them to meet the coverage obligations that go with the operator licences. By contrast, French regulator Arcep said earlier this year that it had seen no demand for private spectrum for France’s industries, and that the goals of enterprise 5G would be better served by cooperation with the MNOs. But Arcep, announcing its 3.4-3.8 GHz auction rules last week, has made some unusual steps of its…