The European Commission’s Vice-President for Digital, Margrethe Vestager, has urged EU telecom ministers to “limit as much as possible” any delays to their 5G spectrum assignments, amid the current challenges to the industry brought on by the coronavirus crisis.
The news comes as the rollout of 5G mobile networks continues to face a number of setbacks in the EU, with a number of countries including Spain, Austria, Portugal, Poland, and the Czech Republic all having pushed back spectrum frequency auctions.
Speaking to EU telecommunications ministers in a private video conference meeting on Tuesday, 5 May, Vestager said that while she understood the reasons for the delays in 5G spectrum assignments, member States should “keep up the pace” as a means of meeting current timeframe objectives, an EU source informed EURACTIV.
Current EU goals in the field of next-generation telecommunications include a launch of 5G services in all EU member States by the end of 2020 at the latest, as well as a “rapid build-up” that will ensure “uninterrupted 5G coverage in urban areas and along main transport paths by 2025,” as outlined in the 2016 5G Action Plan for Europe.
Full Content: EurActiv
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