European Commission extols virtues of 5G

Neelie Kroes, the European Commission (EC) vice president with responsibility for the Digital Agenda, said 5G technology will deliver more than just a step up from current 4G (LTE) networks.

Neelie Kroes - EC vice president

In a brief introduction to a video outlining the goals of the EC-backed 5G Public Private Partnership (5GPPP), Kroes noted that the next generation of technology will "offer totally new possibilities to connect people" and will also deliver connectivity for the Internet of Things (IoT).

Kroes stated that the latest generation technology will connect homes, cars, and energy infrastructure. "All of them at once, wherever you and they are."

The 5GPPP's video noted that "mobile telephony is already at the heart of our everyday," and appears to be an attempt to explain to the public the EC's motives for investing €700 million ($951 million) into the research programme.

The video goes on to explain that the fast pace of technology development means "we need to explore new types of communication networks" that will "respond to increasing use and enable the emergence of new services and applications."

It details potential developments in the fields of medicine--"connected objects will transmit a diagnosis to the emergency services in real time"--and envisages a world where "we have better things to do than drive" our cars.

"Why not use the journey time to augmented reality chat with your cousin in Canada, even if he is travelling too," the video suggests.

One of the main messages in the film is that future networks must deliver more services while consuming a fraction of the energy of current networks. The 5GPPP aims to cut energy use by up to 90 per cent per service, the EC explained.

Marnix Botte, board member of the 5GPPP, last month told delegates at the LTE World Summit in Amsterdam that the group's work is focussed on "covering the full access part in the network," rather than just mobile technology alone.

For more:
- read the EC's latest 5G press release
- watch the EC's public information film [via YouTube]

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