Making the UK an attractive place for investment in future 5G technology is essential if we are to harness its full economic benefit. Not doing so could cost the UK economy up to £7bn per year. Towns and smaller cities will be the ones to miss out most in the current regulatory and policy environment, according to new research commissioned by Vodafone UK.
The benefits of full 5G – developing high capacity, standalone infrastructure rather than building on top of existing 4G equipment – are enormous, especially for industrial uses such as smart factories, and public services such as hospitals which will require ultra-reliable and ultra-low-latency communications.
However, this all depends on significant investment across all parts of the country. The report warns that the difference between an attractive and an unattractive investment environment is worth £7bn per year to the UK economy by 2030 – most of which will be seen outside London and other major cities.
