(Telecompaper) France will auction 700 MHz frequencies to telecom operators in December 2015 and transfer them between 1 October 2017 and 30 June 2019, except in some areas, where operators will be able to use them as soon as April 2016, announced prime minister Manuel Valls. Currently used by DTT broadcasters, the transfer will make it possible to increase provision of very high speed mobile internet services and to generalise HD broadcast of DTT. The prime minister also indicated that the MPEG-4 standard would be generalised in April 2016, to allow DTT broadcasters to enrich their offer and to offer all free DTT channels in HD. A plan will be put in place to accompany the MPEG-2 switch off so that no homes are left without service during the switchover.