The global 5G promise: current experience and legislative horizons

The European Internet Forum (EIF) and the GSMA look forward to your active participation in our 5th annual High-Level Roundtable at the Mobile World Congress, bringing together legislators, regulators, and both supply and demand side market participants.

 

The European Internet Form (EIF), incorporated in the year 2000, is a non-profit, non-partisan, multi-stakeholder platform for the debate of digital perspectives and policy, led by our political members, some 70 in number, all current Members of European Parliament.  

The common interest and commitment of all EIF members is to ensure Europe’s digital future. In so doing we strive for global perspective and outreach, notably via this annual partnership with the GSMA, one of our most active Associate members.

Last year our focus was on “Modernising Europe’s Digital Rules”, for which two European Commission initiatives were and remain key: the European Electronic Communications Code, and ePrivacy.

Our particular purpose this year will be to help legislators at all levels across Europe:  1) better understand how the 5G revolution is gathering momentum around the world; 2) assess Europe’s progress toward our strategic 5G goals; and 3) consider what current and future legislative challenges this portends.

To recall Europe's strategic 5G goals as articulated by the European Commission:

The "fifth generation" of telecommunications systems, or 5G, will be the most critical building block of our "digital society" in the next decade. Europe has taken significant steps to lead global developments towards this strategic technology.

The next generation of communication systems, as pursued in 5G, will be the first instance of a truly converged network environment where wired and wireless communications will use the same infrastructure, driving the future networked society. It will provide virtually ubiquitous, ultra-high bandwidth, "connectivity" not only to individual users but also to connected objects. Therefore, it is expected that the future 5G infrastructure will serve a wide range of applications and sectors including professional uses (e.g. assisted driving, eHealth, energy management, possibly safety applications, etc).

• programme - 25th February 2018

  Introductory remarks:

  Afke Schaart, Vice-President and Head of Europe, GSMA

  Pilar del Castillo MEP, EIF Chair, Head of the European Parliament Delegation to MWC

  Speakers:

  Claire Bury, Deputy Director General of DG CONNECT, European Commission
  

  Johannes Gungl, Managing Director of RTR (Austria), BEREC Chair 2018
  

  Open discussion moderated by:

  Peter Linton, Senior Advisor, EIF

  The Chatham House rule will apply to the discussion