The Digital Single Market needs 5G connectivity! - Main contents

Tomorrow I will be in Riga at the Digital Assembly to talk about the key topics of the Digital Single Market strategy that we announced a month ago. Europe today needs adequate connectivity. This is true for each and every one of us; it is also true for our industry, for businesses, for schools, research centres, public services. Our annual Digital Agenda Scoreboard showed we are making progress on all fronts, broadband included.

But more still needs to be done. And this is precisely what we are doing.

We need a cross-sector, cross-generational debate on future-oriented connectivity for Europe. We will consult widely in the coming months on this topic. We also need extra and quick investment efforts by the industry, by public authorities and by investors. About three weeks ago, after intensive and efficient discussions, the Council and the European Parliament have reached an agreement on the Regulation concerning the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI). It will allow this new ambitious investment plan for Europe to be delivered by the end of the summer.

Now, it is time to focus on implementing this investment plan, which offers a one-of-a-kind opportunity to foster growth, jobs and investments across Europe. And this essentially means investing in networks, starting with 4G and preparing the deployment of 5G networks, the next generation of networks which will integrate 4G and take it to the next level.

5G is the key to an 'always best connected' society, which will benefit from infrastructure and services that are "smarter", secure, reliable, more sustainable but still affordable. 5G will provide virtually ubiquitous, ultra-high bandwidth, ‘connectivity’ not only to individual users but also to connected objects. This will in turn enable a range of innovative applications such as automated driving, reliable remote medical monitoring, connected robots and new education systems. We will be able to move smoothly into the internet of things era where billions of devices exchange data and instil intelligence in our everyday life. For example, let's imagine an urban environment where cars can decide on what itinerary to take based on information like the route other vehicles or even pedestrians are following, traffic disturbances ahead, weather conditions etc. This way, there would be no need for traffic lights, as cars would be able to speed up or slow down depending on what's happening around them and even take the best possible route to get to a destination.

It's clear that setting up systems like the one above is extremely complex. As I already highlighted during my speech at the Mobile World Congress 2015, it's not something you can do on your own. It requires committed partnerships not only with traditional telecom actors but with all parties involved in making all this possible. For example, an urban environment like the one described above could only be achieved with the joint involvement of car manufacturers, the police, hospitals, search engines, weather applications and many more, in order to gain access to the data required.

That is why we seek international cooperation on 5G. We need a global agreement on the definition of 5G, on its service characteristics and standards. We are working on reaching this global consensus. It's the only way to secure that the digital ecosystem will keep benefitting our industries, our citizens and businesses and will remain fully open for all. In June 2014, we stepped up international cooperation by putting in place a collaboration framework with South Korea. A few weeks ago, we signed a 5G Joint Declaration with Japan and we continue discussions for establishing cooperation on this technology with many other countries. Tomorrow at Riga we are discussing how to establish a connected Digital Single Market. I am counting on your support to make 5G happen for all of us in Europe and the world.