Call for evidence outcome

5G call for evidence

Updated 20 April 2018

1. Introduction

1.1

The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) was established by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in October 2015 with Andrew Adonis appointed as its interim Chair. The other members of the commission are:

• Sir John Armitt
• Professor Tim Besley
• Demis Hassabis
• Lord Heseltine
• Sadie Morgan
• Bridget Rosewell
• Sir Paul Ruddock

1.2

The commission will carry out independent and unbiased assessments of the UK’s long-term infrastructure needs and monitor the government’s and industry’s progress in meeting them. It will periodically publish a National Infrastructure Assessment looking across all key sectors and geographies. That will identify the UK’s long-term infrastructure requirements and prioritise the most important projects for further development. It will give clear strategic direction to industry and government and provide a firm basis for planning and investment.

1.3

Alongside this, the commission will carry out specific studies on pressing national infrastructure challenges in order to support the long term competitiveness of the UK economy.

1.4

On 16 March 2016, the Chancellor asked the commission to:

consider what the UK needs to do to become a world leader in 5G deployment, and to ensure that the UK can take early advantage of the potential applications of 5G services.

1.5

The commission’s assessment and recommendations, which will be reported back to government by the end of 2016, will underpin the government’s 5G strategy, which will be announced in spring 2017. The detailed terms of reference are available here.

2. Call for evidence

2.1

The commission is launching an 8 week call for evidence on the deployment of 5G telecommunications in the UK and encourages all interested parties to submit ideas and evidence.

2.2

Those making submissions are asked not to exceed 10 pages in length and are strongly encouraged to provide details of the evidence and data which support their positions (which can be provided in addition to submissions) to enable the commission to understand more fully the basis on which those conclusions have been reached. In addition, the commission will work with key local and national stakeholders as part of an open and transparent process of engagement to support the call for evidence.

3. Context

3.1

The ‘fifth generation’ of telecommunications systems, ‘5G’, is widely predicted to mark a step change in digital communications, changing the way people, institutions and objects interact, which will have profound implications for the economy and society. However, despite such predictions, a precise definition of what 5G will encompass has yet to be agreed.

3.2

It is, however, expected that 5G will provide fast connectivity and the perception of virtually ubiquitous broadband capacity, not only to individual users but also to connected objects (the ‘internet of things’), supporting a wide range of advanced technologies. A global conversation is now underway with the aim of creating a set of international 5G standards for manufacturers and others.

3.3

5G telecommunications technology is at an early stage with primary research still under way. And, in the complex and rapidly changing world of telecommunications, there is a relatively high degree of uncertainty about the nature and range of applications 5G will enable. However, there is consensus that UK internet traffic will grow dramatically across coming decades, with estimates of future demand for mobile data alone suggesting a 45-80 fold increase by 2030 (Ofcom).

3.4

This increase will create a capacity challenge for networks driven by the demands of a range of emerging applications, many not yet conceived but including: the internet of things (or machine to machine communication); smart cities; eHealth; energy management; cloud computing; augmented and virtual reality; autonomous vehicles; online gaming, and; HD streaming. In many cases these technologies require a combination of higher data download and faster data upload speeds, lower latency and greater on the move accessibility.

3.5

UK infrastructure is already expanding, driven by market forces and government intervention, in order to try to meet existing user demands for access and speed. But with such demand - for total coverage and ‘always on’ connectivity – set to increase markedly, there is debate about how best the market, regulation and government should respond to a range of regulatory, planning, economic and technical challenges.

3.6

It is important for the commission to understand the benefits that 5G mobile technology can deliver and the advantage for the UK of being at the vanguard of deployment. The commission also wants to understand the challenges the UK will face in deploying the infrastructure needed for 5G roll out.

3.7

The commission is therefore eager to engage with as full a range of stakeholders as possible in order to gather evidence and ideas to inform thinking. Submissions should look to focus on the specific infrastructure requirements and regulatory steps that need to be taken in order to facilitate the efficient deployment of 5G technologies.

4. Questions

4.1

The questions the commission is particularly keen to focus on are:

• what uses have been envisaged for 5G?
• of those use cases identified, which appear most credible from a UK perspective, and over what timeframe?
• what is the potential scale of benefits?

4.2

What regulatory, planning and other key challenges need to be overcome to support the rapid and cost effective deployment of 5G across the UK?

• are there planning or wider legal issues which have the potential to hold back the deployment of 5G networks?
• are there issues around working across industry sectors which may hold back the deployment of 5G networks?

4.3

What are the infrastructure requirements for 5G deployment likely to be?

• what do the services and uses for 5G suggest about the infrastructure requirement?
• what level of UK coverage will be optimum and what does this mean for the challenge of delivering higher speeds and lower latency? Are there particular issues faced by urban, suburban and rural areas?
• are there any ‘no regrets’ and ‘low regrets’ infrastructure investments that can be made to support 5G deployment?
• in what ways could collaboration between infrastructure sectors speed up and improve deployment, and how might it be incentivised?
• are there any relevant international examples in the deployment of telecoms infrastructure that the UK can learn from?

4.4

Who should bear the deployment costs of 5G?

• what is 5G deployment likely to cost the UK?
• are there international examples to draw on?

4.5

Is the existing UK telecommunications model able to facilitate the efficient roll out of 5G infrastructure and technologies?

• is spectrum policy and its management well placed to support future 5G technologies?

5. How to respond

5.1

The evidence submitted will inform the commission’s understanding of the wider issues surrounding the review we have been asked to undertake.

5.2

Submissions of evidence should be no longer than 10 pages and should be emailed to: 5Gevidence @nic.gsi.gov.uk

5.3

Please provide submissions and evidence by 11 July 2016.

5.4

Evidence will be reviewed thereafter by the commission. If further information or clarification is required, the Commission Secretariat will be in contact with you.

5.5

In exceptional circumstances we will accept submissions in hard copy. If you need to submit a hard copy, please send your response to the Commission Secretariat at the following address:

5G call for evidence
National Infrastructure Commission
1 Horse Guards Road
London
SW1A 2HQ

5.6

We may publish any submissions made; if you believe there is a reason why your submission or any part of your submission should be considered confidential please provide details.

5.7

The commission is subject to legal duties which may require the release of information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or any other applicable legislation or codes of practice governing access to information.