5G Costs and Deployment Questions

Mobile bosses raise questions on 5G costs and deployment.

16:42 11 December 2017

Almost every industry in the country will benefit from 5G when it is finally launched in 2020. The technology, which promises high capacity and low latency mobile connection, can increase not just productivity and efficiency but also safety and security. However, the price that mobile bosses have to pay to lay down its infrastructure could be a lot.

 

Speaking at the Huawei Global Mobile Broadband Forum in London, BT CEO Gavin Patterson said that they are struggling to make the business case for rolling out 5G in the UK. He said: “I talk to other CEOs around the world... and we’ve all been struggling a little bit to make the business case work.”

 

Vodafone CTO Johan Wibergh echoes the same sentiment. Speaking at the same event, he said that providers need to be more realistic about 5G goals.

 

“The cost of rolling out 5G is not going to be cheap. After paying for licences, operators still have to lay down the 5G infrastructure. “. "We've got to finish the job on 4G, and we've got to make sure we get the return on investment [on that]."

 

However, Russell Crampin, UK Managing Director of Axians, says that the technology should not be delayed. “It is crucial that that the telecoms industry works together to bring the undoubted benefits of 5G to consumers and businesses on schedule. Delaying any rollout of 5G in the UK will see us fall behind other European countries, which we cannot allow with the impending Brexit deadline. This will be critical for UK companies as the wider benefits of 5G will extend far beyond just increased bandwidth.”