Because hindering 5G is a problem for Italy’s competitiveness

Politics is the engine of telecommunications, a relationship in which neither can do without the other. Balances are difficult, especially in our country, where for some time the telcos have been trying to find a way to have electromagnetic limits on values ​​similar to those of other European countries. It is not a secondary issue, indeed it is a necessary step for the development of 5G which, at the moment, is hindered more by legislation than by orographic difficulties.

If that wasn’t enough, in recent days, the part relating to the raising of the thresholds for the emission of the signal has disappeared from the draft of the bill on competition. Behind the scenes there was talk of pressure from the League on the government to which it belongs, but 5G cannot be the terrain of a national political battle. We are talking about a reality already established all over the world: According to GSMA data, as of late last spring, 493 operators in 150 different countries were investing in 5G, including testing, licensing, planning, network deployment and launches. On the other hand, 205 operators have already launched their commercial services in over 80 countries: 108 of them have made investments in the standalone 5G network, the most performing but which has the greatest need for free frequencies.

This is not the case in Italy where, in order to accelerate coverage investments, it is still necessary to stimulate the demand for services, especially in a market experiencing a profound profitability crisis. Low tariffs make consumers happy, much less turnover. Numerous researches – the latest that of the 5G & Beyond Observatory of the School of Management of the Milan Polytechnic – show that our country on the one hand is in line with the rest of Europe, but on the other it is still slow in planning 5G . However the numbers are important so much that it is expected that the national 5G market, by 2025, could be worth between 40 and 200 million euros.

What to do to maximize resources? In the meantime, the country needs to be covered well: much of the network coverage is still in DSS, i.e. 5G uses 4G for the connection. In short, for the industrial market to reach 200 million euros, operators need to offer structured solutions. For example, exposing advanced 5G capabilities through common APIs will enable operators to leverage new ways to monetize 5G and rapidly deliver new services on a global scale. In fact, declining revenues are a challenge for operators worldwide, often impacting network investment decisions as part of business growth strategies, known as “monetization”..

The latest report by Ericsson Mobility Report highlighted a positive trend of revenue growth since the beginning of 2020 in the top 20 5G markets – which represent around 85 percent of all 5G sims globally – linked to the increased penetration of 5G subscriptions in these markets. For this we need to respond to the needs related to emission limits: it is estimated that upgrading existing 4G sites to 5G could generate a 10-fold increase in capacity and reduce energy consumption by more than 30%, offering the possibility of increase revenues and reduce costs, while respecting sustainability. The Italian government must resolve the issue of harmonizing electromagnetic limits as soon as possible because, in the words of Asstel, “it has long characterized a significant delta between Italy and the other countries”. You have to run to not fall behind.