Vodafone Group has issued a warning about the current state of 5G in Europe, highlighting how the lack of private investment in the standalone 5G sector could put the region at a disadvantage compared to the United States and China, in crucial areas such as intelligence artificial and cybersecurity. According to the British company, this disparity could lead to further economic decline on the continent. In its report entitled “Why Telecoms Matters”, Vodafone highlighted how digitalisation, driven by 5G technologies, represents a trillion-euro opportunity to boost innovation, industry and public services in Europe. However, the operator said the region is still far from achieving its digital goals.
The report highlights an alarming “connectivity chasm” between Europe and competing markets, according to research including government data and analysis from research firms. “This situation could be reversed if Europe prioritized the development of technologies,” including the 5G SA network, Vodafone noted. Capabilities to deliver low-latency applications and network slicing for industries of all sizes could revitalize Europe's industrial base. The current lack of investment in 5G SA has left Europe with a “funding gap of several billion euros”, hampering efforts to keep pace with developments in AI and cybersecurity. Vodafone found that 73% of large AI models are developed in the US and 15% in China, while no European country currently hosts its own general purpose AI system.
“European businesses are also lagging behind in adopting cloud computing and 5G,” Vodafone added, emphasizing China's lead in edge and 5G SA deployments for businesses and to boost staff productivity. Joakim Reiter, head of external and corporate affairs at Vodafone, said: “Europe has a trillion-euro opportunity to digitize its industry and compete globally, but this goal depends entirely on the speed of adoption.” Reiter underlined that the five-year mandate of the next Parliament and the European Commission must allow Europe to correct course, relaunching telecommunications regulation and creating a single market framework that attracts the investments needed to deploy 5G SA quickly.
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