Insight - Europe plots catch-up in global 5G race to drive pandemic recovery

The mission to introduce the technology, which ultimately promises internet speeds up to 20 times faster than today, could be crucial to how competitively the continent emerges from the economic ruins of the Covid-19 pandemic. Mindful of this, the European Union is funnelling a fifth of its €750bil (US$914bil) recovery fund to improve countries’ digital capabilities.

NEXT year could be a do-or-die year for Europe’s efforts to catch up with China and the United States in rolling out super-fast fifth-generation (5G) telecoms networks.

The mission to introduce the technology, which ultimately promises internet speeds up to 20 times faster than today, could be crucial to how competitively the continent emerges from the economic ruins of the Covid-19 pandemic.