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The States committee responsible for the rollout of 5G wants to allow competition for any future networks.
This is a change in position from Economic Development’s stance in 2021 and how it dealt with the fibre upgrade, when Sure was given a £12.5m grant to create that network.
It has published a States report on its plans, which will be debated next year.
“Today, 5G networks are available in most advanced economies, and it is estimated that by 2025, 5G networks are likely to cover one-third of the world’s population. The adoption of 5G by mobile users is growing rapidly across the globe, so it is critical that the Bailiwick encourages the creation of an enabling environment locally to support the deployment of 5G and successive technologies, or risk getting left behind,” it said.
Pictured: The promises of 5G are the same with any upgraded internet technology, faster download speeds, lower latency, increased capacity, but it also keeps Guernsey in line with other developed jurisdictions.
Just like how we upgrade our computers or phones, mobile phone companies need to upgrade their networks. This means that older networks are being turned off to make room for newer and better ones. Each country decides when to turn off these older networks. The United States has already turned off its 3G network, and companies in the UK are planning to turn off their 3G networks by the end of next year.
The question of who runs those networks is looked at in the policy letter.
In its consultation response, telco JT stressed the importance of it being granted the same 5G spectrum in Guernsey as it has received in Jersey, in order to continue to providing quality competitive mobile services locally, while the Guernsey Competition and Regulatory Authority supports the view that mandating a single 5G network at this time may rule out innovative opportunities in the future.
GCRA Chief Executive Officer Michael Byrne, said in its response: “Future technologies and the economics of network build may change and present opportunities for the jurisdiction the States may not wish to appear to rule out. We therefore suggest this position is tempered to allow for the possibility of some forms of network competition as technologies and economics of network build develop in future.”
ED considers it unnecessary at this time to mandate a single network. They state that there are “clear advantages of maintaining network competition between the existing operators, and there may well be innovative opportunities arising in the future.”
You can find out more on the report on the government website here.
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