With the European Union’s sights set on rolling out 5G across its 27 member states, the body will need to invest €300 billion ($355 billion) into its telecommunications infrastructure by 2025, a study by consulting firm BCG found. Commissioned by telecoms lobbying group ETNO, BCG performed its study at a time when the EU is looking towards 5G as the answer to its economic recovery following a devastating economic recession inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the report, €150 billion in funding is still required if the EU is to realize its goal of implementing 5G access across the European continent. Another setback is the delay in 5G spectrum auctions that resulted from governments shifting their focus to the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
Taking such setbacks into consideration, BCG suggested several methods to assist in the execution of a successful 5G rollout. These include the pursuit of new ownership models such as infrastructure sharing, which would allow a quicker rollout of the technology and the efficient transfer of knowledge between partners not to mention limiting the infrastructure’s environmental impact.
The splitting of infrastructure construction among telecoms providers and the monetization of data traffic were also some of the suggestions provided in the study.
