UK lags behind in 5G connectivity

A report produced by collaborating think tanks has illustrated that the UK is falling substantially behind in the 5G sector.

Statistics uncovered by the recently commissioned research showed the UK being placed last out of 15 advanced and developing markets around the world in terms of 5G download speeds and availability of service.

High-speed connectivity via mobile is considered as the core requirement of any future digital economy, but the report entitled “Growing connections” revealed that users in the UK are only receiving access to 5G coverage approximately 10 per cent of the time.

The report that was sponsored by APWireless, a global infrastructure and telecoms investment company, has now become public. Chris Bryant, the UK’s minister for telecommunication and data protection, says he is committed to enhancing the nation’s digital infrastructure to enable economic growth.

The think tanks who conducted the report noted that the move was not the UK government’s first attempt at improving 5G connectivity levels. Last year, the Conservative party government assembled a “Wireless Infrastructure Strategy” with the aim to give the UK independent nationwide 5G coverage by 2030.

Based on the figures unearthed, it was concluded that the current situation regarding 5G availability does not match the ambition of UK ministers. The importance of widespread 5G availability was stressed, with findings suggesting that it could potentially have a £159 billion impact on the economy by 2035.

The report showed the UK was not only behind its European peers like Italy and France, but also trailed South Korea and India.