5G for Europe’s Digital and Green Recovery

What is 5G?

• The fifth generation of mobile & wireless technologies
• A response to mobile traffic doubling every two years & the growing needs of emerging applications
• The capacity, performance level & security needed to meet future connectivity needs
• Integrating different technologies, especially the Internet of Things 

5G investments to support the COVID-19 Recovery

• The Covid-19 pandemic has shown the importance of resilient & high-speed communications for remote working, in our daily lives, & to maintain business operations & processes
• The Commission & Member States have identified fibre & 5G infrastructure as a key area of investment for the Recovery & Resilience Facility (RRF), for a digital & green recovery

5G in CONNECT RRF components:

5G for Europe’s Recovery

5G  and connectivity infrastructures: A flagship of the EU recovery and resilience facility

• 5G is one of the 7 flagship areas of RRF: a significant share of its targeted €150 billion digital budget should finance 5G network infrastructures
• RRF funds will complement Connecting Europe Facility and Digital Europe Programme strategic investments
• Over the full recovery period, it should double the level of annual investments in network infrastructures in Europe, giving a boost to 5G network rollout
• RRF funds will benefit from a range of fast-track measures regarding state aid authorisation

5G for verticals

• Enable artificial intelligence in business and other aspects of our daily lives
• Connect our communities and industries, from applications in public health, such as remote diagnosis, surgery or monitoring of patients, automated cars to wireless robots
• Excellent potential for sustainable growth and job creation across Europe
• Expected global added value of over €500 billion per year

5G Action Plan

• The 5G Action Plan will boost efforts to deploy 5G infrastructure & services
• Calling on stakeholders & Member States to launch and invest in 5G
• Using the new investment-friendly European Electronic Communicatinos Code ('The Code') adopted in 2018
• 5G for Europe: An Action Plan – COM(2016)588 (.pdf)

European 5G Observatory

• The European 5G Observatory monitors the progress of the 5G Action Plan
• European operators are neck-and-neck with other leading world regions
• Europe is a world leader in 5G trial activities with more than €1 billion invested
• Investments in commercial roll-out of €60-100 billion per year need to follow

EU-27 Scoreboard (January 2021)

The Electronic Communications Code

The Electronic Communications Code sets out common EU rules and objectives for the telecoms market 

• Harmonised principles and peer review process for coherent spectrum authorisations
• Coordinated deadlines for spectrum availability, especially for use by 5G
• Long duration of rights of spectrum use – 20 years of predictability 
• EU-wide light deployment regime for small cells (Commission implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1070 of 20 July 2020)

5G Spectrum

• A roadmap for delivering the 5G 'spectrum mix' for the Internet of Everything
• Usability of all 5G Pioneer Bands by the end of 2020
• Make all mobile bands '5G-ready' & consider additional bands for 5G

Connectivity Toolbox

• The Connectivity Toolbox Recommendation targets:
  • Short-term measures to boost investment in very high-capacity broadband connectivity infrastructure, including fibre and 5G,
  • Guidance to Member States in the process of designing their proposals for a recovery and resilience plan

• Best practices to be implemented in national roadmaps

5G Corridors

• Vision: Pan-EU 5G Corridors for Connected and Automated Mobility
• Private investment with public funding of cross-border & challenging areas
• Large-scale testing using Horizon 2020 (€80 million)
• Large-scale deployment of 5G Corridors will be supported by the new Connecting Europe Facility Digital (part of total proposed budget of €2.1 billion) as well as the Recovery and Resilience Facility
• Blending or coordination with InvestEU & national programmes

* On the road to automated mobility: An EU strategy for mobility of the future COM(2018) 283

Security

• 5G is a key asset for Europe to compete in the global market
• Cybersecurity is crucial for ensuring autonomy of the EU
• 5G infrastructure is interconnected & transnational by nature
• Vulnerabilities & cyber incidents in one Member State can affect the EU
• Serious consequences for critical serices in case of systemic & widespread disruptions
• A 5G Cyber-security toolbox has been published at EU level

Electromagnetic fields and 5G

• Some citizens perceive 5G as a threat to public health, as they think that EMF exposure is higher than exposure from current 4G networks
• Some of the expressed concerns have been classified as disinformation. An example of this is linking 5G networks with the outbreak of COVID-19
• Exposure to EMF that is caused by wireless communications equipment including for 5G is subject to limits defined in a Council Recommendation. These limits are set according to the guidelines issued by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection. More information about the guidelines can be found on ICNIRP's webpage
• Following the scientific recommendations, the EU puts exposure for the general public at a limit which is at least 50 times lower than what international scientific evidence suggests as having any effect on health
• These limits are not binding for EU Members States and they are responsible for setting EMF limits in their countries

• 5G Public Private Partnership (5G-PPP) launched in 2013
• €700 million public investment 
• Mobilising €5 billion of private investment 
• Establishing Europe as leader in 5G technology
• Global cooperation enabling global 5G standards
• Building 5G ecosystems with large-scale trials

Under preparation: a new strategic partnership under Horizon Europe for cooperation beyond 5G & towards 6G

• Enable the digital and green transition of the economy and society
• Establish a human-centric Internet reflecting OUR European values
• Build the Research and Innovation capacities for Europe’s technology sovereignty in 6G systems
• Address connectivity extended value chains, e.g. for cloud, the Internet of Things or components and devices
• Develop lead markets, and boost 5G deployment in key areas of public interest, like 5G corridors for connected and automated mobility
• A first set of 6G projects has already been launched under the 5G-PPP with the Hexa-X flagship system project complemented with 8 projects investigating specific technologies

Budget over the period 2021-2027

• EU public R&I investment of €900 million under Horizon Europe, matched by the private sector
• Coordination of 5G Deployment programmes of around €1 billion under CEF Digital
• Broader R&I investments in Europe expected to leverage up to €10 billion from industry

Estimated timeline

• First half of 2022 - Launch of the first funded actions