5G has never stopped. It is Italy that is left behind

Italy, and more generally Europe, I’m behind in the 5G race. And they risk losing ground compared to the other great powers of the world who have already bet on this technology. Four years after the commercial launch of 5G, China and North America these are the countries to follow, with the highest percentage of coverage of the territory and 5G subscriptions in the world. Behind them he’s accelerating at great strides Indiawhich in the next five years wants to reach one coverage of 57% of the territory and a number of 5G subscriptions equal to 57% of the total available technologies such as LTE (4G) and 3G.

This is what we learn from the new Mobility Report by Ericsson, now in its 24th edition and created starting from the analysis of an enormous amount of data coming from commercial networks. The study by the Swedish company, published twice a year (and available for consultation here), is a snapshot of the state of telecommunications in the world which must always be observed with extreme attention. And that communicates effectively scene

present and above all future ars.

“5G is the fastest penetrating technology in history,” he says Andrea Missori, CEO of Ericsson Italy -. But what India intends to do in the next five years, if you think about it, is a quantum leap. It should make you think. India wants to become the new China. And how do you plan to do it? By building, as the Chinese have done, digital highways”.

For Missori, who in practice spent almost all of his working life at Ericsson, 23 years, Italy is a key country for the Swedish company. History says it – “In Italy we have launched 2G, 3G and, among other things, also the first video call” – but the numbers say it too. “Here Ericsson has 2,050 employees and the largest research and development network, which can count on more than 700 researchers – adds Missori -. I am proud to tell you that last year in Italy we produced one patent a week, for a total of 51 patents in one year”.

But Italy, which once was the beacon of mobile technologyas well as the second largest market in the world in this sector, today risks miss the 5G train together with the other European countries. It is true that, according to data from the Mobility Report, 5G subscriptions in Western Europe are expected to grow up to88% of the total (in 2002 they were 13%). But unfortunately we must also take into account the backwardness of the networks that should allow 5G to cross the country. And here we are far behind.

“Because Italy has not yet launched its standalone 5G network (SA), which is the real network through which this technology will best express itself. While in China coverage is already 90%. And again in China there are already more than a thousand companies dedicated to 5G for industry” underlines Missori.

To recover ground, something could be done immediately. Invest more, for example, in the FWAi.e. a hybrid data transmission system, which uses both the wired network and the radio signal to reach areas where it is more complicated (and expensive) to lay the fiber to reach every home.

“I am an advocate of FWA extension but previous governments have not listened much to this point – says Missori -. In the very white area in Italy, the one not yet covered, is there really a need for an immediate fiber that reaches every home? Maybe not. Maybe we can postpone it and in the meantime use the radio mixed fiber, which for me is in this sense a sort of “killer application”. Instead the funds of the PNRR they almost all went on the fiber. We would like to stimulate the government and support a solution that does not only include fiber. Operators are also interested. And we are still in time to invest in FWA, bearing in mind that the antennas that will be installed, when fiber arrives one day, will not go to waste because they can be converted to mobile broadband”.

Furthermore, the FWA in less covered areas of the country would allow operators not to lose market shares in favor of ‘alternative’ solutions, such as for example the satellite connection offered by Starlink. “As an engineer I say that Musk’s company has made a Copernican revolution – says Missori – but satellite connectivity cannot be compared to 5G, neither from the point of view of technology, nor from that of sustainability and costs”.

As Ericsson’s Mobility Report highlights, in the Top 20 markets where 5G penetration has exceeded 20% Operator revenues have increased. “There is no Italy – specifies Missori – whose telecommunications sector is the only one in deflation”. In our country, however, there are two forces that work in opposite directions: on the one hand, the pressure from investors who understand how to get a return on the money spent on 5G infrastructure, which therefore makes it difficult to find the necessary capital. On the other hand, the thrust of the “over the top” actors who push for efficient networks through which to distribute the experiences of the future, such as immersive ones and the metaverse.

Networks that, however, do not exist in Italy. Globally, around 240 operators have launched commercial 5G services and around 35 have deployed standalone 5G networks. None of these are found in our country.

“We too must accelerate like India – says Missori – we cannot think of 5G only as a tool to better watch a film in streaming. We need a 5G platform that can develop an industry 4.0, that guarantees intelligent ports and that allows other uses that we may not yet have in mind today. If this platform does not exist, the startup of the future that will deal with port logistics will be born in Amsterdam and not in Italy, in Livorno or Gioia Tauro”.