Brick underscored the urgency of addressing these challenges. He said: “2025 is the year Europe is meant to have achieved 5G connectivity in urban areas and along main transport paths.
“It also mandates all organisations, such as schools, universities, and hospitals, should have access to gigabit connectivity. However, according to trackers, it is still lagging behind some of the fast-developing global markets in terms of deployment,” he said.
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The European Court of Auditors' (ECA) Special Report from 2022 highlighted delays in the roll-out of 5G networks across the European Union.
It shed light on the EU's ambitions for universal 5G coverage in urban areas and along major transport routes by 2025, as well as gigabit connectivity for organisations like schools, universities, and hospitals.
However, Europe now risks falling behind fast-developing global markets in terms of deployment, raising concerns about its ability to deliver on these objectives.
Challenges highlighted in the ECA report
The ECA report identifies several obstacles hindering the EU's progress. These include fragmented deployment strategies across Member States, regulatory hurdles, and delays in the allocation of spectrum essential for 5G networks. It also notes disparities between countries in terms of infrastructure readiness and investment, which exacerbate the delays.
Moreover, the report emphasised that achieving widespread 5G deployment is critical not only for connectivity but also for enabling digital transformation in sectors like manufacturing, healthcare, logistics, and retail.
Brick echoed these sentiments, highlighting the importance of cellular connectivity in driving innovation.
“2025 will be the year when Europe starts to pick up the slack and close the gap between leaders in cellular connectivity, seeing areas like manufacturing, healthcare, logistics, retail, and vehicle connectivity adopting the technology.”
The year 2025 marks a pivotal moment for the EU’s Digital Decade targets. Brick noted that political changes in the region could bring renewed focus on improving connectivity infrastructure.
“After a year of elections and, in some cases, new governments coming to power, 2025 will see attention return to achieving these goals. For example, the UK Government has promised improved connectivity infrastructure in its manifesto and has pledged to improve public services in its recent budget,” he said.
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