5G network. The European Union is delayed in implementing new technology

According to the strategy, by 2025 access should be granted to all urban areas and main road transport routes, and by 2030 – the entire territory of the Community.

However, there may be a problem with the implementation of these plans, because – as the European Court of Auditors (ECA), the EU’s audit body, informed on Monday (24/01/22) – it appears that in the next three years only 11 EU countries, including Denmark, Spain, France and Latvia will be able to provide the inhabitants of their cities with uninterrupted access to 5G. Other countries, including Poland, Germany and Austria are moderately or hardly prepared for this, as are Belgium, Cyprus and Greece.

– Ultrafast 5G offers significantly greater bandwidth and data speed compared to existing 3G and 4G networks. This allows you to connect more devices than ever before as part of the so-called the internet of things. By the end of 2018, 22 billion devices connected to the Internet were in use worldwide, such as home appliances or medical devices, in 2030 there are to be as many as 50 billion – say EU officials.

The Union is still behind

Meanwhile, the audit found that almost all Member States are experiencing delays in the roll-out of 5G networks. It is true that all EU countries, except Lithuania and Portugal, have achieved the intermediate goal of providing access to the 5G network in at least one large city, but still as many as 23 of them have not yet transposed, i.e. incorporate the EU directive into national law, in which incl. deadlines for assigning frequencies for the needs of the 5G network.

While in the case of six countries – Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Malta and – the Commission expects the immediate conclusion of the proceedings, for the remaining 17 it may decide to refer the case to the Court of Justice.

Countries explain themselves in different ways. The pandemic also worsened the situation, and for example Poland and Spain simply postponed the dates for 5G frequency auctions. But the auditors also point out the omissions of the European Commission, which has not yet specified the expected quality of 5G network services, e.g. in terms of the minimum data transfer speed or the maximum level of delays. As a result, it can lead to the so-called the digital divide between individual countries, i.e. inequalities in access to 5G services and their quality in the EU. In practice, this means that residents of some EU countries will have greater access to 5G services of better quality than others.

States divided on cybersecurity

The lack of precise regulations has also raised concerns about the security of 5G networks, EU auditors are alarming. Because while EU internet providers are obliged to comply with the standards and requirements of EU law, this does not apply to companies from third countries. Meanwhile, as many as six of the eight major providers of ultra-fast networks in the EU are based outside the EU, such as Chinese Huawei and Korean Samsung (European companies are Ericsson and Nokia).

– The problem is that regulations in countries outside the EU may significantly differ from EU standards, e.g. when it comes to the protection of personal data and

about our concern. It is true that the Commission adopted in 2020 the so-called EU 5G Toolkit. In our opinion, however, everything came too late, because by then some mobile network operators had already chosen their suppliers, said Annemie Turtelboom from the ECA.

The greatest concern is especially the cooperation with Chinese suppliers. In 2015, the EU signed a joint declaration with China on cooperation in the field of 5G networks, but in 2017 the local authorities adopted the law on national intelligence, obliging all Chinese organizations and citizens to cooperate with intelligence services.

In response, many countries such as the US, fearing for the security of their citizens’ data, decided to exclude Chinese companies, including Huawei, from supplying key 5G components. In the EU, restrictions were introduced only by 14 out of 27 countries. This includes Sweden, which decided to withdraw all 5G infrastructure from Chinese suppliers by 2025, and Germany, which in May last year. adopted the IT 2.0 Security Act, providing for “compulsory certification of critical components before their release for use”.

The law also allows the Federal Ministry of the Interior to prohibit the use of critical components should they pose a threat to national security. However, similar regulations are still missing, e.g. in Poland or in Hungary, which have already announced that in the near future they do not intend to limit the presence of Chinese suppliers in 5G networks.

– As a result, we have a situation where one member state prohibits parts from Huawei, and the other says “no, no, Huawei is safe” – says DW one of the EU diplomats.

The total cost of implementing the 5G network in the EU can be as high as EUR 400 million. However, it is estimated that 5G technology could increase the EU’s GDP by EUR 1 trillion by 2025 and contribute to the creation or transformation of up to 20 million jobs.