The 2023 edition of The European 5G Conference will take place on 13-14 March at the BluePoint, Brussels. Now in its 7th year, the conference has an established reputation as Brussels’ leading meeting place for discussion on 5G policy.
The rollout of 5G in Europe is gathering pace, with more than 100 5G networks now having launched across 34 markets. As we continue to edge forward towards the target of 5G deployment in all populated areas by 2030, and with ‘5G Advanced’ and the next chapter of 5G development on the horizon, this conference will look at how stakeholders can come together to tackle the challenges, embrace the opportunities, and ensure that 5G changes Europe for the better.
With a return to an in-person format, the event will once again provide the opportunity to hear from high-level policymakers and industry stakeholders on key themes such as investment, security, sustainability, emerging business models and connectivity. Looking back at the lessons learnt to date, and forward to the path towards 5G Advanced and 6G, the event will provide a comprehensive insight into all the key policy aspects that are shaping the 5G ecosystem in Europe.
Join in on the discussions and register your place today with early bird rates.
Where are we? Progress in 5G network rollout & expansion
Securing Europe’s 5G Networks and Architecture
Finding a fair and sustainable approach to finance 5G ecosystem
Harnessing 5G to help achieve Europe’s climate targets
Towards 5G Advanced and the evolution towards 6G
WRC-23 and 5G – what should be Europe’s aspirations and how can these be achieved?
Spectrum sharing and licencing in the 5G era - mid-band, mmWave and other key frequencies
Forum Europe events are where people and policy meet. We have been organising policy conferences in Brussels and around Europe since 1989. Our events provide unique insights from the people behind the policy and those seeking to influence it. Our expert team develop conference programmes with impact and provide first-class event logistics. Forum Europe is more than an event management and conference production specialist. With offices in Brussels and the UK, we operate across Europe and globally. Through our international arm, Forum Global, our events cover five continents, and engage policymakers and industry at national and regional levels around the world. Our mission is to drill down to the issues that matter, creating policy events that are ahead of the curve, facilitating frank and open debate on some of the most pressing issues facing Europe and the world today.
Analysys Mason is the world’s leading management consultancy focused on telecoms, media and technology (TMT). We give clarity and confidence in answering our clients’ biggest commercial questions: What strategy will best enhance value? What implementation plan will be most successful? What is the optimal positioning for five years’ time?
We bring together commercial and technical expertise across four interconnected consultancy practices strengthened by globally respected research.
Bio coming soon…
http://www.apritel.org/
Collectively our members provide Europe’s citizens and businesses with some of the internet’s most popular products, platforms and services.
As the voice of the leading internet companies in Europe, DOT Europe prides itself on being a consensus based organisation which brings a diverse membership together to agree on their collective stance on EU tech policy.
Put simply, DOT Europe stands for an innovative, open and safe internet for Europe’s citizens and businesses.
The GSMA is a global organisation unifying the mobile ecosystem to discover, develop and deliver innovation foundational to positive business environments and societal change. Our vision is to unlock the full power of connectivity so that people, industry, and society thrive. Representing mobile operators and organisations across the mobile ecosystem and adjacent industries, the GSMA delivers for its members across three broad pillars: Industry Services and Solutions, Connectivity for Good, and Outreach.
The European Wireless Infrastructure Association is the European trade association of wholesale wireless infrastructure providers. Our members invest in and operate wireless infrastructure essential to the delivery of mobile voice, wireless broadband and other wireless networks. EWIA advocates policies that encourage the network infrastructure investment and deployment necessary to make advanced wireless broadband available everywhere for consumers, businesses, health care, public safety and the countless other sectors that rely on always-on wireless connections.
www.ewia.org
NERA Economic Consulting is a global firm of experts dedicated to applying economic, finance, and quantitative principles to complex business and legal challenges. For half a century, NERA’s economists have been creating strategies, studies, reports, expert testimony, and policy recommendations for government authorities and the world’s leading law firms and corporations. We bring academic rigor, objectivity, and real world industry experience to bear on issues arising from competition, regulation, public policy, strategy, finance, and litigation. NERA’s clients value our ability to apply and communicate state-of-the-art approaches clearly and convincingly, our commitment to deliver unbiased findings, and our reputation for quality and independence. Our clients rely on the integrity and skills of our unparalleled team of economists and other experts backed by the resources and reliability of one of the world’s largest economic consultancies. With its main office in New York City, NERA serves clients from more than 25 offices across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.
www.nera.com
Konstantinos Masselos has been appointed as the President of the Hellenic
Telecommunications and Post Commission by the Council of Ministers in
February 2018.
He received a first degree in Electrical Engineering from University of Patras,
Greece in 1994 and an MSc in VLSI Systems Engineering from University of
Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, United Kingdom in 1996.
In April 2000 he received a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from
University of Patras, Greece in cooperation with the Inter-university Micro
Electronics Centre (IMEC) in Belgium where he was a researcher from 1997 to
1999.
From 2001 to 2004 he was with Intracom Telecom S.A, Greece where he was
involved in research and development projects on the development of wireless
communication systems.
He was a lecturer in digital systems in the Department of Electrical and
Electronic Engineering of Imperial College London from 2005 to 2008.
In 2006 he joined University of Peloponnese where he is currently a Professor in
the Department of Informatics and Telecommunications and leader of the
Computer Systems research group.
At University of Peloponnese he served as Vice Rector (2010 – 2012), Head of
the Research Committee (2010 – 2013) and Rector (2012 – 2017). He has been
involved in several research and development projects and has consulting
experience with different industries, start-up companies and public
organizations. Since 2005 he is also regularly involved as an expert with
different European Commission units. He was member of the Scientific
Committee of European COoperation in Science and Technology (COST)
Organization from 2015 to 2017. His main research interests include compilers,
high level synthesis, FPGAs, high performance computing and computing
systems for space. He has authored more than 120 papers in international
journals and conferences.
Chairperson, BEREC
Peter is Head of Unit and Deputy Director, Future Networks in DG CONNECT, where he is managing the Commission’s policy on 5G communication systems and the related research and innovation programme.
Last December he has been appointed Interim Director of the newly established Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking, responsible to manage its office and implement its work programme until its autonomy.
Before his appointment to Head of Unit he has been coordinating the Digital Single Market Strategy, was Head of Sector “Spectrum Policy”, coordinating the 2012 Roaming Regulation, and the EU R&D programme leading to the 4G mobile communications standards.
Before joining the European Commission in 2004 he has occupied several engineering and management positions in industry, academia and start-ups. He holds engineering and doctoral degrees from RWTH Aachen University, Germany.
Head of Unit - Future Connectivity Systems, European Commission
Branimir is responsible for developing and implementing EU-level policy initiatives with focus on wireless broadband and broadcasting. These relate to harmonised and flexible use of spectrum, in particular for mobile broadband, as well as a long-term strategy for the future use of UHF broadcasting spectrum, including the 700 MHz band. He has coordinated the work of the Radio Spectrum Committee.
Branimir has been working with the European Commission since 2008.
He started his professional career in 1995 at the Vodafone Chair for Mobile Communications Systems at the Dresden University, Germany. From 2000 until 2008 he worked with the companies Philips, Qimonda and Signalion in Germany in the area of wireless equipment design, manufacturing and marketing.
Branimir has a PhD degree in mobile communications from the Dresden University. He has made contributions to Wi-Fi standardization.
Head of Sector – Wireless Broadband, European Commission
Eric Fournier is currently Director for Spectrum Planning and International Affairs in the Agence Nationale des Fréquences (ANFR), the French public agency in charge of spectrum management (www.anfr.fr).
In this capacity, he is responsible for preparing the revisions of the French national table of spectrum allocation and for coordinating French positions in international meetings and conferences on spectrum within ITU, CEPT and EU. He was deputy head of the French delegation for RRC-06, WRC-07, WRC-12, WRC-15 and WRC-19.
He is currently vice-chairman of the RSPG, a high-level advisory group that assists the European Commission in the development of radio spectrum policy.
He has been involved in all discussions on major evolutions of spectrum in Europe and was Chairman of the Electronic Communication Committee (CEPT/ECC) from 2013 to 2018 and of the European Conference Preparatory Group for the World Radiocommunications Conference 2012 (CPG-12).
Eric is a graduate telecom engineer from SUPELEC (France).
Chairman, RSPG
Cristina is the Director of Spectrum information and analysis, Spectrum Group at Ofcom. Cristina currently leads the Spectrum Mobile Data Strategy programme with a particular focus on assessing the implications of growing demand. Prior to working on 5G, Cristina led the development of a new spectrum sharing framework, and launched Ofcom open data policy. In particular Cristina was responsible for the release of the UK Interactive spectrum map and the release of information on spectrum use in open format. Prior to joining Ofcom Cristina held various marketing and strategy roles at Telefonica O2, EE (then Orange), and Ericsson (then Red Bee Media). Cristina holds a Master Degree in Management Engineering from the Politecnico di Torino university in Italy.
Director of Spectrum Policy and Analysis
Ofcom
Philippe Lefebvre is responsible for the Commission’s 5G deployment strategy including policy development and economic aspects, in particular regarding the implementation of the “5G Action Plan for Europe” and EU connectivity targets.
Before his current position, he was responsible for the broadcasting sector as well as for the general secretariat of the Radio Spectrum Policy Group in the EU spectrum policy unit. He also worked in several other Commission’s departments between 1996 and 2003 including electronic commerce and financial technologies.
Prior to joining the European Commission, Philippe Lefebvre held middle management positions in the Belgian’s Generale Bank (1983-1986), as Vice President for MasterCard Europe (1987-1991), and as Director Debit Products with Visa International in the US (1992-1995).
Philippe Lefebvre was born in Luxembourg. He graduated in electrical & mechanical engineering (MS) from the Brussels University and in economics (MBA) from the same university.
Head of Sector, 5G Deployment Strategy, European Commission
Lara is currently the Project Director on Ofcom’s upcoming award of mmWave spectrum, scheduled for 2023. As a qualified lawyer, Lara has been advising on policy and regulatory aspects of spectrum, satellite and telecoms including Ofcom’s recent successful auction of 700 MHz and 3.6-3.8 GHz spectrum.
Principal Policy Advisor, Spectrum Awards, Ofcom
Dr. Heidi Himmanen is a Chief Advisor at the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom working in the 5G Momentum ecosystem project. 5G Momentum promotes new services and innovations based on 5G technology through trials to make Finland number one in 5G, brings together the needs and ideas of different actors, encourages cooperation, develops Finnish digital society and makes Finnish 5G-knowledge visible. Heidi has previously worked as a head of spectrum supervision and radio networks unit at the spectrum department at Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority (now Traficom). She holds a Dr. Sc. degree in Communications Engineering from University of Turku and a M. Sc. degree in Communications Engineering from Helsinki University of Technology (now Aalto University).
Chief Adviser, Digital Connections
Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom
Bio coming soon…
Alexandre Kholod, Chairman - Conference Preparatory Group, CEPT
Jonas Wessel is Director of the Spectrum Department at the Swedish Post and Telecom Agency (PTS). He is also Chair of the Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) for the 2018-2019 period. The RSPG is a high-level advisory group that assists the European Commission in the development of radio spectrum policy. Jonas holds a MSC from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Industrial Engineering and Management. Jonas started his professional career as a strategy consultant, working mainly with business development in the telecoms and IT-sector.
In 2003, he joined the PTS as advisor on radio spectrum policy issues. After several positions within the Agency, including responsibility for auctions, he was assigned Director of the Spectrum Department in 2014. Jonas has been one of the driving forces behind the transformation of spectrum management in Sweden and has also been working with these issues internationally, mainly through the RSPG where he has been a delegate since 2004. He was Vice Chairman of the RSPG for the 2016-2017 period.
Director, Resource Management Department, The Swedish National Post and Telecom Agency (PTS)
Bio coming soon…
Chief Product Security Officer, Ericsson
Siada El Ramly is the Director General of DOT Europe. She has over 20 years experience in European public affairs and in particular experience in European Digital Policy having worked for the hardware and software industries in the past. Before joining DOT Europe, Siada was Secretary General of the European Software Association, Director of the AHIMA global services office, Director General of the European Federation of Independent Producers as well as Senior EU Affairs Manager at Digital Europe. She also set up her own consultancy company that provides public affairs, association management and strategic advice to interest groups.
Siada holds an MA in International Studies and Diplomacy from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) – University of London and a BA in Political Science – specializing in International Relations from the American University in Cairo.
Director General, DOT Europe
Luigi Ardito is currently working as Director of government affairs for Europe, Middle East and North Africa at Qualcomm and drive Qualcomm spectrum and regulatory policy agenda in Europe and MENA dealing with various government entities and industry organizations. Prior to joining Qualcomm, Luigi worked for over a decade at Sony Corporation both in Japan and in the UK. Luigi gained also professional experience at France Telecom and at the Italian Public Broadcaster RAI.
Luigi has extensive experience in the Media and Telecom industry as well as the Semiconductor Industry gained through his assignments at Qualcomm, Sony, France Telecom and RAI. He holds an Electronic Engineering Degree gained at the Politecnico di Torino in Italy and a Master of Business Administration gained at the Henley Management College in the UK.
Senior Director Government Affairs EMEA, Qualcomm
William is CTO at Access Partnership. He was one of the founding directors of Neul, a company developing machine-to-machine technologies and networks, which was formed at the start of 2011 and became CEO of the Weightless SIG, a body standardizing IoT technology. Prior to this William was a Director at Ofcom where he managed a team providing technical advice and performing research. He has worked for a range of communications consultancies and spent three years providing strategic management across Motorola’s entire communications portfolio, based in Chicago. He was IET President 2014-2015.
William has published 17 books, 100 papers, and 18 patents. He is a Visiting Professor at Southampton University, a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, the IEEE and the IET. He has been awarded multiple honorary doctorates by the UK’s leading universities and in 2018 was awarded the IET’s prestigious Mountbatten Medal for technology entrepreneurship.
CTO, Access Partnership
Janette Stewart is a Principal at Analysys Mason, specialising in wireless technology, radio spectrum management and valuation. She has nearly 25 years’ experience of working in radio engineering, spectrum policy and spectrum management through 2G to 5G. She is based in Scotland, UK. Janette began her career working for the UK spectrum regulator (now Ofcom) where she held various roles, latterly Senior Spectrum Engineer in the 3G Auction Team, responsible for determining UK spectrum plans for the 3G licence award and interacting with CEPT and ITU working groups. Since joining Analysys Mason in 2001, her 17 years of consulting experience includes advising on market opportunities within the wireless sector, technology strategy, business planning, spectrum strategy, valuation and auctions. She has worked with a wide range of public and private sector clients including national regulatory authorities and policy makers, fixed and mobile network operators, broadcasters, equipment vendors, wireless industry trade associations and spectrum users. Recent projects have included advising on 5G strategy, valuation of spectrum in 700MHz and 2.3GHz bands, 5G readiness in different world markets (in a published report for US industry association, CTIA) and a study on benefits of extending mobile coverage in the UK. She holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the University of Edinburgh, UK and a Master of Science degree in radio frequency engineering from the University of Bradford, UK.
Partner, Analysys Mason
Chris Woolford is Ofcom’s Director of International Spectrum Policy where his responsibilities cover the UK’s international spectrum interests, especially in relation to the ITU, CEPT and EU. He is a member of Ofcom’s Spectrum Executive Team and Strategy Steering Group.
Chris is active in various European spectrum committees and currently represents the UK on the Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG). He has closely engaged for the UK on a number of key European and international spectrum initiatives and led the UK delegations to WRC-15 and WRC-12.
Before joining Ofcom, Chris worked in various UK Government Departments, including 6 years at Oftel, where he worked on different aspects of telecommunications regulation. Chris has a degree in mathematics and statistics from Manchester University.
Director, International Spectrum Policy
Ofcom
Bruno leads the Wireless Technologies group within the Facebook Reality Labs (FRL) organization. This team gathers all the expertise in wireless (RF, Antenna, Design, Verification and Test, Certification, Standards, Spectrum Policy, Firmware and Systems) and owns the definition, development and validation of every wireless interface across the whole FRL product portfolio (Oculus VR, Portal, Ray-Ban Stories). Before joining Facebook Bruno spent most of his career in Europe, working for Motorola and pioneering on the 2G, 3G and 4G technologies and also on the IoT startup scene, creating groundbreaking device designs, ranging from NB-IoT connected garbage sensors to sub-GHz ultra low power animal trackers. Bruno earned a Masters Engineering in Telecommunications from the University of Cantabria, one of the leading RF and Networking colleges in Spain.
Director of Wireless - AR\VR HW
Meta
Peter is Head of Unit and Deputy Director, Future Networks in DG CONNECT, where he is managing the Commission’s policy on 5G communication systems and the related research and innovation programme.
Last December he has been appointed Interim Director of the newly established Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking, responsible to manage its office and implement its work programme until its autonomy.
Before his appointment to Head of Unit he has been coordinating the Digital Single Market Strategy, was Head of Sector “Spectrum Policy”, coordinating the 2012 Roaming Regulation, and the EU R&D programme leading to the 4G mobile communications standards.
Before joining the European Commission in 2004 he has occupied several engineering and management positions in industry, academia and start-ups. He holds engineering and doctoral degrees from RWTH Aachen University, Germany.
Head of Unit, Future Networks, DG CONNECT
European Commission
Peng is an experienced public policy executive, with focus on telecom policy and advocacy, advising governments and telecom industry globally.
Before joining OneWeb, Peng was responsible for the GSMA’s global campaign ensuring optimal licensing conditions for mobile operators. He was leading a team of policy experts across Africa, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle-East to engage policy makers and regulators, and advocated for industry’s best practices on telecom policy. He also took part in many negotiations at ITU or regional level to gain access to additional spectrum for mobile broadband, and oversaw GSMA’s WRC-15 and WRC-19 campaign for APAC.
He recently obtained an Executive MBA at London Business School. He has an engineering background, and hold an MS in Telecommunication Systems from Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Lausanne.
Besides English, he speaks French and Mandarin fluently.
Government Affairs and Policy
OneWeb
Maarit has an extensive expertise in telecoms, broadband and internet matters. She joined ETNO from the Internet Society, where she served as a Senior Manager Europe and where she has acquired strong experience of broadband policies as well as extensive links with internet and tech stakeholders.
Maarit also had direct experience of the telecoms business during her 6 years at Cisco and has developed a strong service-oriented, hands-on profile acquired in leading consultancies Interel and Schuman Associates.
She also has a strong European academic background from the College of Europe, LSE, King’s College and SciencesPo. Maarit is a Finnish national, she also speaks English and French.
Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs
ETNO
More information available shortly.
Senior Manager, Spectrum
GSMA
Bio available shortly.
Head of Market Certification and Standardisation Unit
European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA)
Please note, this is an outline agenda and will be updated shortly – please check back for updates.
All times listed are in local Brussels time (CET).
One of the key aims of the European Commission’s ‘Path to the Digital Decade’ targets was to deploy 5G in all populated areas by 2030. Member states are working hard to deliver on this target and continuing both allocation of key 5G spectrum bands and rollout of networks. However, progress in some areas remains slow, with the situation not being helped by wider societal challenges such as rising energy costs and the cost-of-living crisis affecting sales of smartphones. June this year will see the release of the first annual ‘State of the Digital Decade’ report, which will provide an opportunity to look at the progress being made and the extent to which member states are on track. This session will take stock of the current situation around Europe and at the progress that has been made. It will look at the challenges and obstacles that remain, and at how policymakers and industry representatives need to come together to ensure that these are overcome.
Through the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), Connecting Europe Facility Digital programme (CEF Digital) and other investment mechanisms, Europe is making an unprecedented level of public financing available in order to help drive forward the development of network infrastructures and boost 5G network rollout. Despite this, Europe still faces an investment gap in both private and public funding when compared to other regions. And with construction and energy costs related to the deployment of networks spiralling, telecom operators across Europe are stating that there is an urgent need for additional funding to deliver and maintain a long-term sustainable 5G ecosystem. They argue that part of this financial burden should be met by BigTech firms, who contribute a large proportion of the internet traffic that is seen. With a European Commission consultation around this issue scheduled for early 2023, this session will examine the arguments for and against this ‘fair contribution’ debate, and also focus on funding elements more broadly to explore the work that is being done to deliver the necessary public and private funding for 5G, and ultimately the best and fairest way forward to fund 5G and Europe’s digital future.
At the recent COP27 Summit, Frans Timmermans announced that Europe is raising its 2030 target of reducing gas emissions from 55% to 57%. With a recent study claiming that at least 40 percent of the bloc’s carbon reduction solutions will rely on fixed-line and mobile connectivity, 5G is set to play a crucial role in hitting these targets. From smart cities and optimized buildings to streamlined transport networks, real-time monitoring and energy management systems to increased efficiency of inventory stocks and manufacturing – if harnessed in the right way then 5G offers the potential to enable organizations and communities everywhere to reduce our carbon footprint and move towards a more sustainable economy. At the same time however, rollout of 5G networks will also require millions of new cell antennas and billions of new devices, which initially has the potential to actually increase energy consumption and contribute to the climate change problem. This session will explore the impact of 5G on climate change from both angles. It will look at the work that is being done to mitigate the impact of 5G rollout on the environment; and crucially, explore the potential that 5G and the new use cases that it will enable can help play a role in helping Europe in meeting ambitious national and EU-wide 2030 goals for decarbonization.
5G Advanced is seen as the next major chapter of 5G development and is expected to deliver a whole new wave of new solutions and technology components. Amongst other things, it is expected to significantly improve the ways in which 5G can support AI and machine learning, which in turn has the potential to lead to more intelligent network management and improved performance of complicated, multi-antenna systems. This session will look at the differences that the emergence of 5G Advanced and AI-powered networks could make, the new features and enhancements that could emerge and the likely timeframe for this both in Europe and elsewhere.
From the identification of early visions and technical goals through to eventual commercial deployment, the development of any new generation in wireless technology is broadly thought to have a 10 year cycle process. The path towards 5G in Europe can be said to have begun in 2012 with the launch of Project METIS – a multi stakeholder initiative, formed with the objective of laying the foundation of 5G. Now, just over a decade on and with 5G an established commercial reality, this interactive session will offer the opportunity to look back on the different phases of the 5G ‘cycle’, to discuss the successes and the failures, and as we move forward, look at the lessons that can be learnt.
Telecom companies have invested heavily to roll out 5G services in countries across Europe, and there is now increasing pressure on them to explore new service offerings and business models in order to start seeing a return on these investments. At the same time, 5G is seeing the emergence of innovative new market entrants and shifting dynamics in the relationships between key industry players. Against this backdrop, this session will examine how traditional telco business models and the overall connectivity landscape is evolving in a 5G world. It will examine the changes that 5G is bringing to both the telecom ecosystem, and also to the way in which connectivity providers are interacting with both their customers and other technology providers. It will look at the opportunities that 5G offers for telecom and technology companies, and the best and fairest way forward in order to ensure the emergence of a long-term sustainable ecosystem that delivers economic value for them all.
WRC-23 will see decisions made on a number of bands that are seen as hugely important for the evolution of 5G and beyond. The final conference preparatory meeting (CPM23-2) is due to take place just a few weeks following this conference, with WRC-23 itself now less than a year away. Europe, as well as the rest of the world, are moving towards their final preparations – the final opinion from RSPG was agreed at the end of 2022 and is now with the European Commission as it looks to finalise its proposal for a Council decision which will feed CEPT European common proposals to be adopted in May or September 2023. This session will take stock on the key agenda items related to spectrum for 5G and look at the positions that are emerging. It will discuss what Europe should be aiming for in terms of its key aims and objectives, and discuss the best way forward in order to ensure a successful WRC that meets the growing connectivity needs of 5G and other related technologies.
As we have moved beyond the initial launch phase of 5G, mid-band frequencies have become the main focus of the mobile industry when it comes to identifying additional spectrum that they say is now required for 5G growth in urban areas. A recent GSMA report stated that an average of 2GHz of mid-band spectrum is required to meet the needs of 5G, identifying the 3.5 GHz, 4.8 GHz and 6 GHz frequencies as providing options to deliver this. At the same time however, spectrum in the mid-band ranges is seen as essential for key users such as satellite and military, and for the delivery and expansion of WiFi. This session will look at how much additional spectrum in the mid-band frequencies is actually needed for the growth and evolution of 5G, and at the extent to which the need for the identification of new spectrum can be offset by refarming or increasing efficiency in existing bands. Ultimately, it will discuss the long-term balance that we should be looking to deliver in mid-band frequencies between 5G and other users, and at how the needs of all key users can be met.
The high capacity and ultrafast speeds of mmWave spectrum meant that it was initially seen as a critical part of the spectrum mix for 5G. Technical propagation challenges however have meant that the interest in these high frequency bands is not at the level that was initially expected – the 26GHz band was one of the EU’s initial ‘pioneer’ bands for 5G, but many member states have still not yet licenced spectrum in the band or made it available. This has raised the question of whether regulators should be considering alternative licencing approaches when allocating spectrum in the mmWave frequencies, and whether the option of lightly licensed or unlicensed models might be an approach that kick-starts interest and allows for a broader range of 5G business cases. One new approach that is being proposed is in the UK where Ofcom have recently held a consultation in which they propose a split approach to authorising mmWave spectrum, offering auctioned citywide mobile licences only in major cities and making local spectrum licences available on a first come, first served basis everywhere else. Against this backdrop, this session will explore whether there is a need for a more flexible approach to licencing spectrum in the mmWave frequencies, and at the potential impact this may have both for 5G rollout in the bands and also on other key users.
One of the key aims of the European Commission’s ‘Path to the Digital Decade’ targets was to deploy 5G in all populated areas by 2030. Member states are working hard to deliver on this target and continuing both allocation of key 5G spectrum bands and rollout of networks. However, progress in some areas remains slow, with the situation not being helped by wider societal challenges such as rising energy costs and the cost-of-living crisis affecting sales of smartphones. June this year will see the release of the first annual ‘State of the Digital Decade’ report, which will provide an opportunity to look at the progress being made and the extent to which member states are on track. This session will take stock of the current situation around Europe and at the progress that has been made. It will look at the challenges and obstacles that remain, and at how policymakers and industry representatives need to come together to ensure that these are overcome.
Through the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), Connecting Europe Facility Digital programme (CEF Digital) and other investment mechanisms, Europe is making an unprecedented level of public financing available in order to help drive forward the development of network infrastructures and boost 5G network rollout. Despite this, Europe still faces an investment gap in both private and public funding when compared to other regions. And with construction and energy costs related to the deployment of networks spiralling, telecom operators across Europe are stating that there is an urgent need for additional funding to deliver and maintain a long-term sustainable 5G ecosystem. They argue that part of this financial burden should be met by BigTech firms, who contribute a large proportion of the internet traffic that is seen. With a European Commission consultation around this issue scheduled for early 2023, this session will examine the arguments for and against this ‘fair contribution’ debate, and also focus on funding elements more broadly to explore the work that is being done to deliver the necessary public and private funding for 5G, and ultimately the best and fairest way forward to fund 5G and Europe’s digital future.
At the recent COP27 Summit, Frans Timmermans announced that Europe is raising its 2030 target of reducing gas emissions from 55% to 57%. With a recent study claiming that at least 40 percent of the bloc’s carbon reduction solutions will rely on fixed-line and mobile connectivity, 5G is set to play a crucial role in hitting these targets. From smart cities and optimized buildings to streamlined transport networks, real-time monitoring and energy management systems to increased efficiency of inventory stocks and manufacturing – if harnessed in the right way then 5G offers the potential to enable organizations and communities everywhere to reduce our carbon footprint and move towards a more sustainable economy. At the same time however, rollout of 5G networks will also require millions of new cell antennas and billions of new devices, which initially has the potential to actually increase energy consumption and contribute to the climate change problem. This session will explore the impact of 5G on climate change from both angles. It will look at the work that is being done to mitigate the impact of 5G rollout on the environment; and crucially, explore the potential that 5G and the new use cases that it will enable can help play a role in helping Europe in meeting ambitious national and EU-wide 2030 goals for decarbonization.
5G Advanced is seen as the next major chapter of 5G development and is expected to deliver a whole new wave of new solutions and technology components. Amongst other things, it is expected to significantly improve the ways in which 5G can support AI and machine learning, which in turn has the potential to lead to more intelligent network management and improved performance of complicated, multi-antenna systems. This session will look at the differences that the emergence of 5G Advanced and AI-powered networks could make, the new features and enhancements that could emerge and the likely timeframe for this both in Europe and elsewhere.
From the identification of early visions and technical goals through to eventual commercial deployment, the development of any new generation in wireless technology is broadly thought to have a 10 year cycle process. The path towards 5G in Europe can be said to have begun in 2012 with the launch of Project METIS – a multi stakeholder initiative, formed with the objective of laying the foundation of 5G. Now, just over a decade on and with 5G an established commercial reality, this interactive session will offer the opportunity to look back on the different phases of the 5G ‘cycle’, to discuss the successes and the failures, and as we move forward, look at the lessons that can be learnt.
Telecom companies have invested heavily to roll out 5G services in countries across Europe, and there is now increasing pressure on them to explore new service offerings and business models in order to start seeing a return on these investments. At the same time, 5G is seeing the emergence of innovative new market entrants and shifting dynamics in the relationships between key industry players. Against this backdrop, this session will examine how traditional telco business models and the overall connectivity landscape is evolving in a 5G world. It will examine the changes that 5G is bringing to both the telecom ecosystem, and also to the way in which connectivity providers are interacting with both their customers and other technology providers. It will look at the opportunities that 5G offers for telecom and technology companies, and the best and fairest way forward in order to ensure the emergence of a long-term sustainable ecosystem that delivers economic value for them all.
WRC-23 will see decisions made on a number of bands that are seen as hugely important for the evolution of 5G and beyond. The final conference preparatory meeting (CPM23-2) is due to take place just a few weeks following this conference, with WRC-23 itself now less than a year away. Europe, as well as the rest of the world, are moving towards their final preparations – the final opinion from RSPG was agreed at the end of 2022 and is now with the European Commission as it looks to finalise its proposal for a Council decision which will feed CEPT European common proposals to be adopted in May or September 2023. This session will take stock on the key agenda items related to spectrum for 5G and look at the positions that are emerging. It will discuss what Europe should be aiming for in terms of its key aims and objectives, and discuss the best way forward in order to ensure a successful WRC that meets the growing connectivity needs of 5G and other related technologies.
As we have moved beyond the initial launch phase of 5G, mid-band frequencies have become the main focus of the mobile industry when it comes to identifying additional spectrum that they say is now required for 5G growth in urban areas. A recent GSMA report stated that an average of 2GHz of mid-band spectrum is required to meet the needs of 5G, identifying the 3.5 GHz, 4.8 GHz and 6 GHz frequencies as providing options to deliver this. At the same time however, spectrum in the mid-band ranges is seen as essential for key users such as satellite and military, and for the delivery and expansion of WiFi. This session will look at how much additional spectrum in the mid-band frequencies is actually needed for the growth and evolution of 5G, and at the extent to which the need for the identification of new spectrum can be offset by refarming or increasing efficiency in existing bands. Ultimately, it will discuss the long-term balance that we should be looking to deliver in mid-band frequencies between 5G and other users, and at how the needs of all key users can be met.
The high capacity and ultrafast speeds of mmWave spectrum meant that it was initially seen as a critical part of the spectrum mix for 5G. Technical propagation challenges however have meant that the interest in these high frequency bands is not at the level that was initially expected – the 26GHz band was one of the EU’s initial ‘pioneer’ bands for 5G, but many member states have still not yet licenced spectrum in the band or made it available. This has raised the question of whether regulators should be considering alternative licencing approaches when allocating spectrum in the mmWave frequencies, and whether the option of lightly licensed or unlicensed models might be an approach that kick-starts interest and allows for a broader range of 5G business cases. One new approach that is being proposed is in the UK where Ofcom have recently held a consultation in which they propose a split approach to authorising mmWave spectrum, offering auctioned citywide mobile licences only in major cities and making local spectrum licences available on a first come, first served basis everywhere else. Against this backdrop, this session will explore whether there is a need for a more flexible approach to licencing spectrum in the mmWave frequencies, and at the potential impact this may have both for 5G rollout in the bands and also on other key users.
Launched in 2016, and now in its seventh year, the European 5G Conference has previously taken place in Brussels, as well as virtual editions in 2021 & 2022. We look forward to welcoming delegates to join us in Brussels for the return of an in-person format in 2023.
Taking place virtually in January 2022, the sixth edition of the event welcomed over 1000 key stakeholders and policy makers to our online events platform, to discuss key topical issues related to the rollout of 5G.
You can view more details of the 2022 edition of this event here.
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