Research highlights strengths and weaknesses of mobile communication in the Netherlands
Research firm Dialogic has explored the development of 5G to 6G mobile communication technology. The focus of the exploration was on the innovation opportunities for the Netherlands.
The report provides insight into global developments and the position of the Dutch research and innovation ecosystem development.
strengths
The research briefly highlights the following strengths of the Netherlands (based on the Dutch ecosystem):
For example, the Netherlands is in a good position as a supplier to semiconductor manufacturers. Dutch, and in the Netherlands, companies such as ASML and ASMI are global leaders when it comes to supplying products for the semiconductor industry. The exponential developments in the field of halfs have a very broad and social impact, but also drive developments in the 5G/6G ecosystem. The demand for chips – partly as a result of the rollout of 5G – is increasing strongly.
The Netherlands has a strong position as a producer of semiconductors. The Dutch NXP semiconductors making their way in various parts of the 5G/6G ecosystem. On the other hand, there are more such products worldwide, and Dutch sales are small. Innovation and development in the field of these semiconductors is limited, although there are links of interest in the field of 6G ‘sensing’ with radar and antenna technology and photonics. Ampleon is a niche market leader in the Netherlands: their technology is in all base stations. The share of Ampleon in the total value of these systems is use-small. Ampleon is also wholly owned by Chinese investments. There are also a number of smaller players in the Netherlands.
There is also a good consumer and business demand side of the market. The Dutch market has a mature demand side with highly digitized and digitizing controls.
The existing 5G testing grounds contribute to the development of propositions and demand articulation. In the Netherlands, a number of 5G testing grounds have been set up in which various parties develop use cases and propositions based on 5G technology, often linked to strong Dutch verticals.
The Netherlands also has excellent mobile networks. The Dutch mobile networks are among the best in the world, with expected coverage, speed, reliability and capacity. [98] This way we can’t export too late. We make the caveat that leaves 5G rollout in simple context.
Its strength is also the number of research groups in niches. At TU/e, TUDelft, UT-wente and TNO, among others, leading research is being conducted in specific 5G/6G-related niches, such as photonics and (millimetre-wave) antenna technology. The total R&D expansion of the Netherlands (“a number of research groups”) in the field of telecommunications is a fraction of the global R&D development (roughly 50 billion euros per year).
Weaknesses
The research briefly highlights the following weaknesses in the Netherlands (based on the Dutch ecosystem):
No suppliers of size. There are no (establishments of) sellers in the Netherlands with substantial consequences. In recent decades we have even seen the R&D activities of Ericsson leave and KPN’s research activities have also been scaled down. The suppliers are the hub in the web between technology and applications (at operators) and other sides of technology. Where in other countries R&I can be built around these vendors, in the Netherlands we can talk about very fundamental technology (chip machines, antenna technology) and unique application possibilities, but not about the integration layer in between. Within Europe there are of course two world players (Ericsson and Nokia).
Not great technology. All major tech platforms, specific cloud providers, come from America: Google, Microsoft and Amazon. It is true that it has a foothold in the Netherlands.
No device manufacturers of any size. The largest players in this market (think Apple, Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi) are located in the United States, South Korea and China. Production takes place in most cases in (South) East Asia.
No international MNO (anymore). Two mobile network operators with a foreign parent company are active in the Netherlands (Liberty Global at VodafoneZiggo and Deutsche Telekom at T-Mobile, respectively). Where PN developed various activities abroad in the 1990s, this is no longer the case today. The countries that can use large international players to influence the supply industry. Reasoned the other way around: The decision to roll out 5G in the Netherlands was not only taken in Rotterdam, but also in London and Bonn. It is relevant for research and innovation that international investment decisions will be leading – the parent companies of the operators decide on the extent of investment in Dutch networks (and frequency licenses, for example) and weigh this against investments in other countries.
Some Dutch gems are already in the hands of foreign parties. Such as information, among others, Ampleon is not in Dutch hands. In itself it can be said that these activities carry out activities in the Netherlands, ie to the Dutch economy. Besides the fact that the profits flow away to it, it is of course also more difficult in the field of IPR and human capital to reap future results.
Hardly any branches of foreign parties that contribute to the supply-side 5G/6G R&I ecosystem. If we look at the parties that directly contribute to the development of 5G/6G technology, we see that they are concentrating on the three vendors. A number of Asian parties, including Samsung and Huawei, will be given a prominent role in standardization processes. we see large tech parties that are attracting parts of the telecom ecosystem.
Little knowledge of telecommunications, little outflow of talent in this corner. Knowledge of telecom technology is still present in a small number: the development institutions, implementations and a limited number of companies. Knowledge about ICT in pronunciation is widely available in the Netherlands.
Dialogic+-+Strategic+Exploration+Research+en+Innovation+5G++6G.pdf