European Commission: Benefits From 5G Deployment in Europe Estimated to Reach €113.1bn Annually by 2025

• European Commission supported study, carried out by InterDigital and others, finds that in 28 EU Member States total cost of 5G deployment could reach approximately €56 billion in 2020
• Study suggests that investment in 5G could achieve trickle-down effects totalling €141.8bn annually by 2025
• These effects are likely to create 2.4 million jobs across the EU

LONDON and WILMINGTON, Del., Sept. 28, 2016 -- Findings from a new study completed for the European Commission has identified a potential annual benefit to its member states of €113.1 billion annually as early as 2025 from deploying 5G, with trickle-down benefits from 5G investment totaling as much as €141 billion. The findings come from a major new study entitled “Identification and quantification of key socio-economic data to support strategic planning for the introduction of 5G in Europe,” prepared for the European Commission by InterDigital Europe, Real Wireless, Tech4i2 and CONNECT (Trinity College Dublin).

The primary aim of the study was to forecast the benefits, impacts and technical requirements to assist strategic planning for the introduction of 5G across Europe. In addition to the economic benefits resulting from 5G deployment, it is also expected to create 2.3 million jobs in EU28 Member States. The study estimates that in EU28 Member States the total cost of 5G deployment will be approximately €56 billion by 2020.

The report is the result of more than a year of research by team leads from InterDigital Europe and the study’s other contributors, punctuated by two group working sessions held in Brussels during 2016. Those group workshops brought together more than 80 experts from four main vertical industries: automotive, healthcare, transportation and energy.

While 5G benefits and capabilities are extremely broad and varied, the study identified three main capabilities that will bring beneficial changes and development. These were:

• 50Mbps everywhere - Truly ubiquitous coverage is expected to help overcome the “digital divide” caused by poor broadband coverage
• Scalable solutions for sensor networks - Support for large scale M2M/IoT networks is a priority for all verticals and environments, in particular, automotive, healthcare, transport and utilities
• Ultra-tactile Internet - A step-change capability that has the potential to unlock futuristic applications and services including real-time sense-respond-actuation cycles that enable human-device and device-device interactions.

The combined annual benefit of €113.1 billion by 2025 identified in the study comes from two main groupings, first order benefits across four vertical industries, totalling €62.5 billion, and second order benefits across four “environments”, totalling €50.6 billion. In further findings from the report, 63 percent of these total benefits will arise for business and 37 percent will be provided for both consumers and society.

In vertical industries, the automotive, healthcare, transport and utilities sectors are expected to experience major benefit. From an economic perspective, strategic benefits of 5G are forecast as follows:

• Automotive €13.8 billion
• Healthcare: €1.1 billion
• Transport: €5.1 billion
• Utilities: €775 million

In the four environments of Smart Cities, Non-Urban, Smart Homes and Workplace, the  total economic, social and environmental benefits of 5G are forecast as follows:

• Smart City: €8.1 billion
• Non-Urban: €10.6 billion
• Smart Home: €1.3 billion
• Workplace: €30.6 billion

On the findings, Alan Carlton, Vice President, InterDigital Europe, stated: “Many people are excited about 5G technology, but the goal of this study was to investigate what 5G might actually mean for industries, including the mobile industry, as well as various other stakeholders. This study should provide a basis for regulators, other public authorities and various stakeholders to plan future policy in areas such as spectrum allocation planning and future market regulation. The key in all this is to attain maximum benefit, both socially and economically.”

You can also view InterDigital’s recent work aligned to 5G-PPP activities here.

About InterDigital^®

InterDigital develops mobile technologies that are at the core of devices, networks, and services worldwide. We solve many of the industry's most critical and complex technical challenges, inventing solutions for more efficient broadband networks and a richer multimedia experience years ahead of market deployment. InterDigital has licenses and strategic relationships with many of the world's leading wireless companies. Founded in 1972, InterDigital is listed on NASDAQ and is included in the S&P MidCap 400^® index.

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