Business Eye CI can reveal the roll out of a next-generation 5G mobile network so fast it could power driverless cars in the Channel Islands will begin in 2021.
Just as the upgrade from 3G to 4G mobile signals was considered a game-changer for consumers who now routinely stream video and download files on their phones, the upgrade to 5G is predicted to transform whole industries.
It will offer speeds that mean the network could power self-driving vehicles, augmented and virtual reality applications, and transform communities into ‘smart towns’ and ‘smart cities’ with more and more devices permanently connected to networks to communicate with each other.
The Channel Islands competition regulator CICRA says the demands 5G will bring are part of their focus for the next twelve months.
They predict technological change could also mean a consolidation of the telecoms market with fewer operators in Guernsey and Jersey, and they’re concerned that consumers don’t lose out from a lack of competition.
They say: “The way downstream and upstream services are accessed by consumers is changing. Services (described as Over the Top or OTT) are invariably provided by non-jurisdiction specific providers. The increasing range of such services will be further fuelled by the arrival of 5G1. The pace that these new services and innovations can be made available to consumers will rely on a more responsive marketplace than we have at present. It is conceivable that, in the medium term, this could eclipse the need for consumers to use licensed retail services presently.”
The announcement of the 5G roll out comes just days after Digital Jersey was granted nearly half a million pounds to turn the island into a world leader of connected devices, known as the ‘Internet of Things’.
CICRA is now consulting on how regulations and their approach to the telecoms market should change in the coming years. You can contact them directly with your views here.
