Europe needs to spend €300 billion on its telecoms infrastructure by 2025 if it wants to fully roll out 5G with gigabyte speeds, according to a study commissioned by telecoms lobbying group ETNO.

The study, carried out by consulting firm BCG, claimed this investment will generate an annual increase of €113 billion in GDP and create 2.4 million new jobs across the 27-country bloc by 2025.

BCG’s study said €150 billion is still needed to achieve a full-5G scenario in Europe, while an additional €150 billion is required to finish upgrading fixed infrastructure to gigabit speeds.

The study also said that digital solutions that require 5G could reduce carbon emissions by up to 15 per cent, via enabling potential 30 per cent emission cuts with smart cities and 30 per cent emission cuts via digital transformation in the transport sector.

BCG also called for increased investment on the demand side, claiming 83 per cent of EU SMEs are still not using "advanced cloud" and 60 per cent of 9-year-olds currently are educated in schools that are not digitally equipped.

In addition, BCG said that upgrading the digital infrastructure of all European schools would require €14 billion a year and that digitalising all European SMEs would require €26 billion per year.

The report also called for a loosening of current rules, allowing telecoms providers to cooperate more freely and to monetise data traffic on their networks.

The news comes as Europe’s leaders discuss how the €750 billion NextGenerationEU (NGEU) fund will be allocated to support members hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Both the pandemic and anti-trust concerns, such as those plaguing chip-maker Qualcomm, have slowed down the 5G roll-out in the EU.

In September 2020, Huawei released research which claimed a 5G roll-out delay could cause losses of £18.2 billion for the UK economy.

“The Covid pandemic has reinforced how reliant we are on our telecoms infrastructure for virtually every aspect of our work, education and social lives,” said Wolfgang Bock, managing director and senior partner at BCG. “We need to learn and apply that lesson to ensure Europe makes the necessary investments to be able to remain competitive.”

“Today, 83 per cent of EU SMEs do not use advanced cloud services and over 60 per cent nine-years-olds are in schools which are still not digitally equipped.”

He added: “Our report maps a route for Europe to build a more digitally skilled workforce and create millions of jobs”.

Share Story: