Belgium is one of the worst European students regarding the deployment of 5G
This is the assessment made by the European Court of Auditors as part of an audit of the implementation of 5G networks by EU Member States. The Court is just as pessimistic for four other countries.
The new report was written by Annemie Turtelboom. The former minister has been active at the European Court of Auditors since 2018. She notes that European countries have experienced significant delays in rolling out 5G. Only four countries have missed the 2020 milestone of at least one major city having access to 5G, but for further rollout most countries are off track.
Eleven of the 27 EU countries appear set to achieve the goal of connecting all urban areas and their main transport routes to 5G by 2025. Eleven other countries are on track, but for five others – including Belgium – the chances of achieving this are considered to be cut off. Our country is in the company of Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Greece. By 2030, the whole of the EU should be equipped with 5G coverage.
“Why do we insist so much on the delays in our report? Because 5G is a powerhouse, enabling things like remote surgery and industrial automation. If you don’t meet the deadlines, there will also be delays in the implementation of the Internet of Things,” says Turtelboom. It also highlights economic opportunities. Between 2021 and 2025, 5G could increase the GDP of the European Union by around 1,000 billion euros and create or transform 20 million jobs.
In Belgium, the federal and regional governments reached an agreement on the auctioning of 5G spectrum in November last year. On 13 January BIPT launched a call for applications for the auction of the new 5G radio spectrum. This auction was to take place in June.