Foresight Talk on ACCELERATING 5G TAKE-UP: Bridging the EU’ s Digital Gap with US and China

On January 15, 2025, I-Com hosted a Foresight Talk in Brussels focusing on the advancement of mobile connectivity and development of 5G networks in Europe. The event foresaw a panel discussion by Franco Accordino, Head of Unit Investment in High-Capacity Networks at DG CONNECT, who outlined the status of Connecting European Facility (CEF) Digital investments, the Commission rationale behind them, and traced some goals and strategies for the immediate future of the Telco sector.

The discussion was introduced by Stefano da Empoli, I-com president, who presented some statistics elaborated by the Institute on EU’s position in the global context of connectivity infrastructure. Data shows that EU generally lags behind countries such USA, China and South Korea in terms of 5G penetration in the telecommunications and coverage. For what regards the latter, the EU seems to perform competitive percentages. However, the study evidences how the current mapping method does not distinguish between standalone and enhanced 4G networks -­ a defect which may lead to an amplification of the actual numbers and in a misleading interpretation of the actual service quality offered.

Thereafter, Franco Accordino emphasized on the crucial time for the Telco sector as the 2030 digital goals are closer and closer, calling for a revised and future-oriented EU approach for the industry. In this sense, He stressed the importance of upholding a business model able to guarantee sustainable revenues, higher quality of coverage and deeper penetration of the networks, innovation and competitiveness at the service of the consumer. To achieve this, He delineated some key elements for Commission strategy. A cross-sectional approach which bundles connectivity to other spheres of digitalization is deemed essential to foster digital transition and harmonize it with the green one. Practically, He identified three points of actions. Firstly, the deployment of best practice and concrete use scenarios can speed up the take-up of standalone 5G systems. Additionally, it is crucial to create awareness on the demand side about the vast possibilities 5G may offer to daily life and the entire economy. On the regulatory front, regulation must be enhanced with purpose of realizing European Digital Single Market full potential. At the same time, bureaucracy simplification can be beneficial when for those markets which have reached functional equilibria and can guarantee high level of competition. Finally, Franco Accordino deemed crucial the improvement of mapping methods for 5G networks in order to ensure a common and harmonize approach to make data more reliable and comparable.