The European Commission’s digital agenda chief has called for a “global consensus” on 5G and urged companies to speed up its implementation.
At a speech at Mobile World Congress yesterday, Neelie Kroes said global cooperation on interoperable 5G was crucial for its implementation.
While companies such as Huawei have predicted its commercial rollout will not be until 2020, Kroes said the target needs to be brought forward by regions working together.
She said: “Let’s find a global consensus on the scope of 5G, its main technological constituents, and the timetable for putting it in place.
Let us work this out together. And let’s work it out soon: by the end of 2015. So all our citizens can get the 5G boost as early as possible.”
Last year, Kroes announced €700 million in funding to research 5G, with private companies providing five times that amount. South Korea has also spent just over €1 billion Euros in developing the technology.
Kroes said: “The change will not be incremental, but exponential. 5G is the key to a new paradigm, to a connected society, to the Internet of Things. It will enable whole new fields of application and new solutions for society.
From medical monitoring to smart cities to augmented reality. And integrating fixed and mobile. Meaning connectivity anytime anywhere, through any available network.”
Kroes added that the further rollout of 4G technology should not be forgotten in the race for 5G. She also repeated her calls for a “connected continent”, saying the current system hinders Europe’s competitiveness.
She said: “Today, you face 28 different spectrum systems in Europe. So it’s harder to plan and bid across borders. That is letting you, the industry, down – it’s letting our economy down – it’s letting our citizens down.”
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