If it maintains the current pace of implementation of 5G connections, Europe will only catch up with China in terms of technology coverage at the end of the decade.
The assessment is by Nick Read, CEO of Vodafone, made during a speech at the opening lecture of Mobile World Congress 2022, the main event in the telecommunications sector in the world, which takes place this week in Barcelona.
Europe, along with Africa, is one of Vodafone’s main markets.
Asking for collaboration with governments, Read cited that, today, 60% of mobile phone connections in China are through 5G. In addition to the Chinese, South Korea (over 90%) and the US (45%) are also prominent in the area. In Europe, the metric is below 10%.
5G, which promises faster mobile internet, is key to further digitization of the economy and industry. With support for a greater number of simultaneous connections, the technology is essential for the so-called “internet of things”, in which different devices – such as lamps, cameras and sensors – connect to the network. In industry, it is seen as an engine for automation.
For José María Álvarez-Pallete, CEO of Telefónica and President of the GSMA, this advance must come with responsibility and respect for human values. “The lines between material progress and ethical progress are blurred,” he said in a keynote address at the opening of the MWC. “The digital revolution needs to bring about social progress.”
INEQUALITY
A study released by the GSMA, the entity that brings together telecoms and organizes the MWC, points out that the total number of 5G connections made in the world should reach the symbolic mark of 1 billion by the end of this year, doubling the mark reached in 2021.
The analysis outlines the global inequality in technology implementation, which is in its third year of implementation, but is only now present in all continents of the world.
According to Mats Granryd, Director General of the GSMA, today half of the global population is not online. Of the 3.7 billion people who are disconnected, 3.2 billion are in areas where there is coverage, but they do not use the network.
“The good news is that the coverage gap is shrinking. It has reached over 1.5 billion people in the last four years. [450 mi ainda estão em áreas em que a conectividade não chega]”, he stated.
The main barrier to entry for the 3.2 billion people who are covered but not using the internet is cost, according to Granryd. “Most unconnected people are poorly educated, in rural areas and are women,” she said.
The journalist traveled at the invitation of Huawei.
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