In the telecoms industry, 5G is ‘the next big thing’ and the debate on how and when it should be introduced in Europe is now well under way. As the journey towards a 5G world will be challenging, the GSMA is addressing the most urgent issues, such as the availability of spectrum, facing this new technology.
As well as organising an event in the European Parliament (see the article ‘Ensuring Europe’s Leadership in 5G’ on our blog), the GSMA has spoken at various 5G conferences in Brussels. It has also launched a new 5G spectrum position paper, which calls on governments and regulators around the world to commit to supporting the needs of 5G in the run up to the next World Radiocommunication Conference in 2019. Governments need to collaborate on a harmonised approach as 5G services will require large amounts of spectrum. Unless there are sufficient frequency bands available for 5G, it may not be possible to deliver a step change in mobile broadband speeds and support rapidly growing mobile data traffic, especially in busy urban areas.
On 8th November, Laszlo Toth, Head of GSMA Europe, participated in the EIF Dinner debate entitled Future Internet connectivity needs in Europe beyond 2020: 5G obstacles and promises which convened EU and tech stakeholders for a discussion on Europe’s 5G objectives. He stressed that Europe needs a step change in investment to match its digital ambitions and regulatory reforms are required to encourage that investment.
One week later, the GSMA’s Vice President – Europe Afke Schaart spoke at the Essential Future Forum run by the Financial Times and Qualcomm in Brussels. The event featured a high-level discussion on how 5G technology will transform industries such as transport, healthcare and mobile communications and also addressed the role of policy and regulation in advancing the connected world into the future. In her contribution, Ms. Schaart highlighted the role Europe has played in setting the GSM standard, the GSMA’s work on connected cars and the regulatory changes necessary to realise 5G networks in Europe.
The increasing discussion about 5G in Brussels, and other centres of policy making, underlines that the 5G journey has now really begun. The European Commission has laid the legislative groundwork for the Digital Single Market and the Gigabit Society. Companies from various industry sectors are teaming up with mobile operators to explore possibilities for innovation and the introduction of 5G and Internet of Things-related services. And investors are keen to understand the market demand and governance of this next step of the digital revolution, and turn the promise of 5G into a reality.