With the competition for the development of 5G networks increasing every day, companies all around the world have been playing a tense chess game for the leadership of this game-changing technology. However, as the chairman of the European Round Table for Industry (ERT), Carl-Henric Svanberg, said in an interview with the Financial times, it seems that Europe is left far behind in this race for 5G technology, with an approach that could probably result in a great failure driving investments down.
On September 18th 2020, the RTE published a report in which the 27 Member States of the European Union and their advancements in both 5G and 4G were analysed and assessed. This report identified a gap between the European Union and other powerful economies throughout the globe. For instance, it points out how both the US and South Korea have 5G commercial services available since a year ago, South Korea counting with 1,500 base stations per million capita; whereas the majority of Member States have not even launched 5G commercial services and, in total, they have only ten 5G stations deployed per million capita.
The contrast between these economies’ progression in 5G networks can be in great part explained by the diversity of countries within the European Union and the differences among them. In the European Union, Member States are characterised by their own particular political and economic situation as well as the political and economic situation which groups the European Union as a single economic power. Therefore, it is hard to coordinate the diversity of high and inconsistent costs, and returns on investment throughout the various States.
Despite Europe’s potential in the digital innovation spectrum which drives the emergence of various start-up hubs such as Amsterdam, Berlin and Lisbon; the region seems to be left behind in the roll-out of 5G networks. A key factor hampering this progress is spectrum availability and spectrum licensing. With many European telecoms allocated in narrower bandwidth and spectrum licensing being specially costly for some particular countries, the roll-out of 5G faces a complicated and uncertain environment which derives in several restrictions on innovation, investment, and network deployment.
Moreover, while China’s technological and networking company, Huawei, progresses in their development of 5G networks, the US Government moves quickly to stop the internationalisation of their advancements. This has driven European economies into a further state of confusion and blockage. Outside the European Union, the United Kingdom has sided with the US and in July 2020 it banned new Huawei, resulting in both a delay by two to three years of the 5G phone networks rollout, and an increase of cost by £2bn. This example draws a clearer image on the potentially self-sabotaging and slow advancements of Europe as a whole.
All factors combined result in the current slow evolution of 5G networks in Europe compared to the advancements of other powerful economies such as China, South Korea, and the US. It is now crucial for the European Union to think about strategies to overcome the obstacles it faces both internally and externally to avoid further economic turmoil and boost its own technological strengths for the development of 5G, avoiding
References
ERT, 2020. Assessment of 5G Deployment Status in Europe. Available at: https://ert.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/ERT-Assessment-of-5G-Deployment-Status-in-Europe_September-2020.pdf [Accessed September 22, 2020].
Lemstra, W., 2018. Leadership with 5G in Europe: Two contrasting images of the future, with policy and regulatory implications.
Really interesting article Sonia and very well written! I wonder if this slow evolution of 5G in Europe has anything to do with the controversy and skepticism it was met by from a fraction of the population in certain European countries such as France. Many skeptics have doubts about the technology and regarding the usefulness of switching from a 4G to a 5G networks. I know that in France, 5G has been at the root of intense debates among the population and has fed numerous conspiracy theories in regard to government control. It seems the debate mainly concerns whether or not the additional speed gained from these 5G networks outweigh the potential health risks linked with the higher frequency waves emitted. Just like all other radio frequency radiation the WHO has classified it as possibly carcinogenic. While increased health risks are not proven, hearing of 6G coming in 2030 makes me wonder when we will consider it to be enough.