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Committee on Development 

With worldwide 5G revenues estimated at EUR 225 billion in 2025, what steps should the European Union take regarding this new technology, whilst taking into account cybersecurity and the potential for the EU to become a leader in the global market?

 

Submitted by: Artem Kalyta (UA) & Svitlana Midianko (UA)

Along with the numerous benefits of 5G also comes a complicated procedure and a high cost of establishing this connection around Europe. The overwhelming majority of electronic devices allow lower frequencies which are not compatible with 5G, thus a drastic technological shift must occur in order to provide sufficient hardware pillar for the 5G advancement. While these obstacles adversely impact the spread of new network, it is still highly advantageous and imperative for shifting to ‘Industry 4.0’ which implies the rise of Artificial Intelligence world, self-driving cars, smart cities and Internet of Things (IoT) network.   

 

Definition of Key terms

  • Fifth-generation (5G) wireless network - a relatively new iteration of cellular technology, which is ought to increase internet speed up to 20 Gbps and lower its response time (latency) to 1-2 ms as compared to 4G LTE’s 1Gbps and 50 ms respectively. These features are significant to enable real-time feedback, a drastic drop of latency, which allows reacting to new input data faster than the blink of an eye and may reinforce advancement of many new technologies, e.g., IoT or self-driving cars.[1];

  • Cybersecurity - a process or state of protecting networks, devices, and programs from any attempts of deliberate exploitation of technology-dependent systems. The advancement of 5G poses additional challenges to maintaining cybersecurity as it increases the amount and diversity of collected data which may incentivise cyberattacks;

  • Internet of Things (IoT) - an ever-growing network, which extends Internet connectivity beyond traditional devices to a diverse range of everyday objects. It enables the transmission of data between them and other Internet-enabled systems;

 

Relevance of the Topic

Uploading HD movies 70 times faster, having a stable connection in remote areas and being able to move around without drivers are benefits the world may experience after the shift from low-frequency 4G networks to highly efficient 5G. New technology possesses an immense power when it comes to global digitalisation and the era of “e-governments”. Furthermore, 5G can satisfy the needs of the most demanding technologically advanced societies, providing various opportunities starting from self-driving cars mass scale production and ending by the Internet of Things development. However, this technological advancement, available due to radical changes in frequency usage algorithms, correspondingly requires a similar hardware improvement which would allow devices to connect and support drastically higher frequencies. While the citizens would need to upgrade their devices to obtain their spot on 5G networks, businesses have an opportunity to benefit from it right away. They would be capable of receiving a short-term profit and avoiding risky long-term investments as 5G allows to spread the connection to remote areas where radio-towers were previously economically unreasonable. Along with a significantly smaller 5G mast size, it will also immensely increase masts’ carrying capacity, allowing more users to connect at the same time, which is extremely beneficial for the residents of big cities with high population density.

 

Key Conflicts

Despite the incredibly quick Internet connection, strongly decreased latency, and other powerful benefits of 5G, there have been admitted several adverse effects connected to this network usage. Although the new technology has almost “divine ubiquity,” the majority are unable to experience these advantages because of financial concerns. The devices, supporting 5G, belong to the most expensive electronics category and require substantial economic effort to get ahold of them. While flagman cellphones and laptops with high-frequency cell adaptors may theoretically be affordable for the majority in well-developed countries with stable economy or residents of industrial cities with comparatively higher income, they are entirely out of reach for lesser economies or rural residents. This presents a complicated issue as 5G’s main benefit is considered to be precisely its availability for everyone, no matter what place on the globe they reside. However, this theoretical advantage is annihilated by the cost of hardware needed to access 5G, therefore EU efforts should be concentrated on handling this problem.

Recently introduced General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR),[4] aimed to return EU citizens control over their data, have been combating the adverse effects of improper data usage by the companies. Although the legislation had encountered severe obstacles and large corporations resistance, it had managed to improve the current situation, however, struggling over the growing digital field being difficult to analyse and detect cybercrimes. Therefore, with the introduction of 5G into the EU and prognosed drastic data production and consumption growth, many challenges are probable to appear in these unstable conditions.

 

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Figure 4 The above figure depicts involved stakeholders in the current 5G regulations and processes around Europe. It includes but not limited to legislative powers of European Union, assisting and supporting agencies, national governments, private and public beneficiaries as well as service providers and receivers.

Existing Measures and Current Legislation

The European Commission recognises the importance of 5G advancement and initiated a set of actions for its development, including the 5G for Europe Action Plan, which aims to establish needed infrastructures across the Digital Single Market.  It advocates for sizeable commercial scale introduction by 2020 and industry-led venture supporting fund; early deployment in major urban areas and along primary transport paths;  pan-European multi-stakeholder trials.[3] The progress of plan in reinforced by the functioning of European 5G Observatory, which monitors and provides updates on 5G market developments.

A joint initiative between the European Commission and European Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry, 5G Infrastructure Public-Private Partnership (5G PPP), poses a challenge of securing Europe’s leadership by delivering solutions, architectures, technologies, and standards for the ubiquitous next-generation communication infrastructures of the coming decade.

Furthermore, as a part of  the Digital Single Market strategy, an initiative Digitising European Industry (DEI)  defines meeting  5G standards  as one of the five priority areas and aims to reinforce the EU's competitiveness in digital technologies.[2] Also, Cybersecurity Act reinforces the mandate of the European Union Agency for Network and Information and Security (ENISA) to better support Member States with tackling cybersecurity threats and attacks as well as establishes an EU framework for cybersecurity certification.

A wide range of International Cooperation on 5G was also established, which convey the commitment of the EU and mentioned countries to strengthen their cooperation on defining basic functionalities, key technologies and time plan for 5G. These include but are not limited to joint declarations between the EU and Brazil, Japan, South Korea, which imply industrial agreements between the respective manufacturing associations.

Food for thought questions

  • Should the EU use any economic stances and monetary incentives to enhance 5G advancement?

  • What should the EU do to protect citizens’ privacy while expanding the Internet of Things?

  • What stances should the EU take to ensure a sufficient level of security as more smart devices and data appear along with 5G?

  • How can the EU incentivise the spread of a 5G network in lower-income areas?

 

 

Links to further research and materials

An article explaining what 5G is 

An article summarising all the European Commission's initiatives and policies regarding 5G

An article explaining the work of smart devices and its possible rising challenges and issues

An article discussing the issue of cybersecurity with the upcoming 5G network

 

An article explaining the necessity of 5G for self-driving cars

[1] Edward J. (2019, January 7).  5G versus 4G: How speed, latency and application support differ. Network World from IDG.

[2] General Data Protection Regulation - a legislation implemented by the EU as a response to severe privacy violations and data crimes, aimed to protect EU citizens’ right for privacy and reassure in their ability to control their data.

[3]European Commision. (2018, August 22). 5G for Europe Action Plan.  

[4] European Commission. (2018, November 9). Digitising European Industry.

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