Brussels, 04/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - Europe does not have the choice: it is absolutely imperative that it shifts to 5G, even though it was unable to correctly negotiate towards 4G. It is essential for its economic growth and social prosperity. It is also important for being able to negotiate on an equal footing with the US and Asia for moving forward with the implementation of international standards on 5G.
This is the thrust of the contribution made by the Commissioner for the Digital Economy, Günther Oettinger, when he presented “the European vision for 5G” at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Tuesday 3 March. The Commissioner stated: “5G won't just be faster, it will bring new functionalities and applications with high social and economic value… I expect that the EU industry at large will set the path towards an ambitious 5G technology development”. The Commissioner explained that there were still problems that needed to be solved in order to correctly deploy 4G but the results achieved thanks to the public-private partnership set up in December 2013 are encouraging (see EUROPE 11101). He announced that the European Commission would be earmarking €125 million to finance 20 projects that would create the foundations for 5G and which would first be introduced in 2020. (Isabelle Lamberty)