Vodafone Warns on Lack of Private Investments in European SA 5G

Vodafone Group claims that a lack of private investments in standalone (SA) 5G in Europe puts the region at risk of lagging the US and China in areas including AI and cybersecurity. The group said that the gap could lead to further economic decline.

In a report titled Why Telecoms Matters, Vodafone found digitalization driven by 5G technologies presents a trillion-euro opportunity to advance European innovation, the industrial sector, and public services. However, the operator asserted the region is still some way from achieving its digital targets. As it stands, there is an alarming connectivity chasm between Europe and competing markets, Vodafone wrote following research compiled from various government data and analysis by research companies.

This could be reversed if Europe prioritizes the deployment of technologies including SA 5G, Vodafone noted, adding capabilities to deliver low-latency applications and network slicing for industries of all sizes could revitalize Europe’s industrial base. A lack of investment in SA 5G left Europe with a multi-billion euro funding gap, stunting efforts to catch up with developments in AI and cybersecurity.

Vodafone found that 73% of large models are being built in the US and 15% in China, while no European country is currently hosting its own general-purpose AI system. “European businesses also lag in their take-up of cloud computing and 5G.” Vodafone also emphasized China’s lead on deployments of edge and SA 5G for businesses and to increase staff productivity.

Joakim Reiter, Vodafone's chief external and corporate affairs officer, said that Europe has a trillion-euro opportunity to digitalize its industry and compete globally, but this prize depends entirely on the speed of adoption. “The five-year mandate of the next European Parliament and Commission must allow Europe to course correct, rebooting legacy telecoms regulation and creating a single market framework that attracts the investments needed to roll out SA 5G at pace.”