European Commission officials say the continued low uptake of 5G in Europe means that other technologies that rely on high-speed internet, such as artificial intelligence, will be slower to roll out.
advertisementEuropean Commission officials say the continued low uptake of 5G in Europe means that other technologies that rely on high-speed internet, such as artificial intelligence, will be slower to roll out.
Renate Nicolai, Deputy Director-General of the Commission’s Digital Department, said at the 5G conference in Brussels today (30 January) that despite efforts to accelerate the rollout of high-capacity networks, the EU He said the country still lags behind in connectivity compared to the US. other parts of the world.
“We’re seeing some progress, but it’s not happening at the right pace for the economy. There are success stories like self-driving cars and healthcare applications, but low 5G penetration will hold AI hostage. “Maybe,” she said.
In its State of Digital Telecommunications report published yesterday, telecoms lobby group ETNO also warned that the rollout would be delayed before the EU’s target of achieving full 5G and full Gigabit coverage by the end of this decade is met. It warned that significant additional investment was still needed.
In 2023, 5G penetration will reach 80% of the population in Europe, up from 73% the previous year, while the level will be 98% in South Korea and the United States, and 94% in Japan. The report confirms that at the end of the decade, around 40 million people in the EU still lacked access to a fixed gigabit connection.
digital network law
To address investment issues for the deployment of 5G and the financing of communications infrastructure, the commission will publish a white paper on the Digital Networks Act (DNA) on 21 February. Actual legislation may be enacted after the new committee is established. He took office after the EU elections in June.
Mr Nicolai said the white paper would also consider issues such as member states’ involvement in investment and ways to increase public and private funding.
“We know that we need €200 billion to upgrade our networks. The investment levels and revenue streams of consumer-based carriers are no longer efficient. So how do we address the investment gap? “We will consider it,” she added.
DNA’s lead, EU Industry Commissioner Thierry Breton, previously said in a blog post that carriers need scale and agility to adapt to technological innovation, but market fragmentation is holding them back. insisted.
“There remain too many regulatory barriers to a true communications single market, including in spectrum acquisition, integration, legacy networks, and security,” Breton wrote.
Looking to DNA, technology lobby group the Computer Communications Industry Association (CCIA) said in a statement today that Europe should look to future technology solutions to meet its 2030 connectivity goals.
“The EU should take a step back and rethink how to achieve its Digital Decade goals in the most efficient and cost-effective way. “The focus has been solely on that and ignoring whether there is enough consumer demand or interest,” said CCIA Senior Vice President Daniel Friedlander.
