German chancellor Angela Merkel has promoted a rapid but realistic expansion of fast internet infrastructure.

At the Digitising Europe Summit organised by the Vodafone Institute, she said: "In the 5G discussion, everyone is saying that this is a good time to put all kinds of things into it, especially in parliament; but everything must also be physically feasible."

Merkel continued: "When it comes to telecommunications, you always have to think first about the customer and not about profitability; we have to balance private investment power with state support."

Elsewhere in the event, Vodafone chief executive Nick Read stated: "Businesses and governments must work closely together now more than ever so that we can fast-track Europe’s digital transformation to build a prosperous digital future for all European citizens.”

A report in December, produced as part of the UK's 5G Testbed and Trials programme, argued that the UK needs to rethink its mobile security strategy to ensure safe future 5G networks.

Meanwhile, in January, IBM partnered with Vodafone in a two-stage deal worth £426 million that will create joint cloud and hosting services, in addition to building artificial intelligence (AI), cloud and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions to help companies prepare for 5G connectivity.

As part of the eight year managed-serviced deal, Vodafone has agreed to pay IBM to provide jointly-delivered enterprise solutions to businesses. It will also enable Vodafone Business customers to access IBM’s cloud offerings.

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