Do you think the UK’s 5G infrastructure is fit for purpose for the fast-evolving AI powered connected internet of everything?
The UK is okay, but it’s not world leading. When you look at speed tests, it’s the worst out of the G7 so we are typically in middle of the pack. I think we move between 47 and 49th on the Ookla global speed test for 5G – we should be doing better. And why is that important? For me, there’s a whole range of reasons, but you look at the US and China and other countries that are further ahead, and what we see is that connectivity infrastructure drives the innovation, and then drives the investment, becoming a self-fulfilling circle of investment. Without that really good underpinning of mobile connectivity, in particular, you’re missing out on that investment.
We’re mainly talking about AI applications now, as AI is obviously one of the big themes of the moment. But, actually, if you think almost everything that we do in the future is probably going to need some form of connectivity, be it autonomous cars or IoT, for example, or even just how we connect from a business perspective, all of that needs underpinning with connectivity. So, will AI be a part of it? Absolutely, but it’s not limited to that.
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Given the Labour government’s priority for growth, how would you make a case for 5G to become part of that priority?
So I think the first thing is, actually we’ve got a really good strategy from the government in terms of coverage and the UK infrastructure. The UK strategy has that really good underpinning in terms of coverage on 5G standalone (5G SA). So, I think the first thing is to make sure that we follow through on that, because there’s really good ambition in it, but kind of how we need to flesh out.
I think the second thing, from a government perspective, for me, is making sure that, from that, we treat connectivity like we do any other infrastructure. So for example, if you’re building a hospital or you’re building a railway line, you wouldn’t dream of doing it without power, but yet we would do it without connectivity. So actually, if we build that connectivity into everything the government does, as well as other organisations, it’s not just the government, actually, then that innovation and the platform will be there to get to be future-proof.
And then the third thing is helping quite practically on the rollout side. And again, the government’s quite open to this. But you know, the UK is not an easy place to roll out 5G when you look at kind of access planning and so on. It’s not always straightforward.
Which of those three you mention are the key driver for moving 5G infrastructure roll out forward? Or is there something else?
Actually, a fourth point is around the investment gap that mobile operators face. Mobile UK has referenced the size of that gap as £25bn. The big question is where is it coming from? Between, the private sector and the government we need to source the extra money.
And I think that’s why it’s super important that the connectivity is built in, because in reality, the way you will fill that investment gap, or certainly the vast majority of it, is by driving revenues, building out the ecosystem and by innovation, by saving money and greater efficiencies. If you have an efficient hospital, or road, or factory, then that in turn pays for the investment, but you’ve got to kick start the loop on it. Creating revenues to then carry on investing.
Where will the cost savings and efficiencies come from?
If you look at the government’s own strategy. It’s £159bn potential savings across the economy. This depends on the sector, but there are plenty of examples. If you look at ports, for example, you know you can automate. You can track the containers so you don’t lose money. It could be efficiency in terms of how often you have to go and visit places, because you can do it remotely. And again, if you look at healthcare, there are so many applications that are sitting on connectivity as well. So almost everything you think of in terms of how you can make businesses and organisations more efficient requires that connectivity.
How is Ericsson using AI as an organisation?
We have a number of areas where we either use AI already, or we will be building on it. For example, to monitor the network more efficiently; how you predict when things are going to go wrong before they go wrong, and how can you learn from them. As networks get bigger and more complex, AI helps to manage it rather than doing it manually. I think if you turn it the other way in terms of, how does connectivity help AI, again, it’s hard to see how many AI use cases without that really great connectivity. So, it becomes a prerequisite for a lot of AI
The benefits and the economic growth that will enable are huge. I see a massive opportunity to improve the way we do things, to look at innovation and use cases, but in the right framework. And I think the other thing that’s worth pointing out is we had an open letter to the EU just making sure that we don’t overregulate.
What’s your view on the right regulatory approach?
We need to make sure that we have the right framework in place, but that we don’t over regulate. And getting that balance right is going to be really important. I think we’re on a journey in the UK. That’s a conversation our AI experts are working through. I am positive. I think, I mean, it’s here, so we can either embrace it and look for the innovation and how we work within the framework, or we can choose to deny it but AI is coming.
What about 6G roll out in other markets like China. Is that what’s next?
I think one step at a time, so you’ve got 5G non-standalone, which you see quite widespread in the UK. You’ve then seen the launch of 5G SA, which gives you the next level of 5G to enable things like slicing, and offer a more personalised service, which relates again to driving revenue. That’s really key because a customer will pay, for example, for a prioritised service for their gaming or, businesses can be allocated a specific slice enabling another kind of prioritised service, customer options which in turn drive revenues.
For me, one of the big focuses at the moment is 5G SA and making sure that we’re using standalone capability fully, and that we’ve got the coverage to back it up. And largely you need what we call mid-band radios to make that fully effective. 6G then comes a bit further down the road.
5G SA is more important, because it allows operators and indeed the customers to have a service that they value more. There are lots of different models, so you can pay for anything from just 10 minutes, to permanently. And so it opens the door to whole world of connectivity options.
