Why isn’t the UK further ahead on 5G adoption?
Last month we published a blog exploring how 5G will release untapped potential in pretty much every sector in the UK.
Despite such promise, however, in many ways the UK still lags behind on feeling the benefits of this technology.
A recent report by the Social Market Foundation ranked the UK 30th out of 39 countries for 5G availability and 37th out of 39 for quality, citing an ‘investment gap’ as the primary cause.
So how can we improve on this and turn the UK into a global 5G leader?
Faster, heavier investment in private 5G network projects across the country – which we talked about more in the blog we mentioned above – could be the answer.
But first we need to understand why this lack of progress and investment exists in the first place.
And it’s largely down to five key reasons:
1. Low understanding or awareness of 5G
2. Concerns about cost and return on investment
3. Planning permission and infrastructure challenges
4. Spectrum access and regulatory hurdles
5. Cultural change and a lack of digital skills
Let’s go into each of those in a little more detail.
A lack of understanding or awareness of 5G
Many of the organisations we speak to, and even many people involved in new network projects, are still not fully aware of the major benefits of 5G and certainly not the differences between public and private 5G.
The perception for many is that 5G is simply 4G but faster. They might even question the need for it if their current 4G essentially does what they need. But there are so many benefits of 5G beyond just speed that many don’t know about yet.
If we can do more to promote and celebrate these use cases, we can encourage people and organisations to take advantage of the huge opportunities 5G creates.
Concerns about cost and return on investment
Any significant upgrade is going to come with a cost attached. And with every pound of investment increasingly scrutinised in most organisations, getting all stakeholders to sign off on a private 5G project is no easy task.
The truth is there is no single use case that can justify an investment as large as a new private 5G network.
But with its ability to improve the way people work, collaborate and do business in almost any part of an organisation, those looking to secure approval can gather potential applications from multiple teams and ‘stack’ those use cases up to justify the investment.
Not sure what all those use cases could be? UKTIN has a raft of helpful practical case studies that can help guide you.
Planning permission and infrastructure challenges
The previous UK government launched a £40 million fund in 2023 to unlock local 5G investment across the UK. But like any major infrastructure project, funding is only part of the battle.
Securing planning permission for new infrastructure – while successfully overcoming any potential local opposition to your plans – is a major part of the process. One that can take months, if not years, to achieve.
One solution is to better demonstrate – both to local communities and planning teams in local authorities – how 5G brings benefits like economic growth, job creation and innovation to local regions.
This is something we’re already doing through real-world projects like the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus and the Bicester to Bletchley 5G Rail Corridor.
Spectrum access and regulatory hurdles
Another barrier to widespread private 5G adoption is complexity when it comes to obtaining spectrum licenses.
Under the current way of doing things, applicants need to put in a request for a shared license through Ofcom and then wait up to six weeks for it to be approved (on top of the time it takes to complete the lengthy application process in the first place).
This might be fine for some use cases, but for instances where you might want a pop-up network for a short period of time – a music festival, for example – it poses a significant hurdle.
But projects like ON-SIDE are looking into ways to make spectrum allocation more agile – using management software to get more out of each frequency band, for example, and developing new 5G radio units that can provide a clearer picture of spectrum usage.
Cultural change and a lack of digital skills
Of course, even once organisations manage to overcome all the above and get a private 5G project off the ground, there’s still one more potential pitfall: their own employees.
Whether it’s a resistance to new technologies in some of the more traditional industries or simply a lack of the necessary skills and knowledge to make the most of it, any private 5G rollout needs to include an element of onboarding and upskilling.
You need to take people on that journey to help them understand how it will benefit them in their day-to-day role, while making sure they’re primed and ready to use it to its full potential, and it doesn’t just feel like yet another IT ‘upgrade’ being forced on them.
Engaging end users from the start of the project and developing solutions to tackle their concerns can help achieve this.
Cross-sector collaboration is the only way forward
The potential for private 5G in the UK is undeniably huge. It could transform whole industries, boost the economy and drive growth across the UK.
But for all of that to become a reality, everyone – from private firms to regulators, local councils and government bodies – needs to come together to find a faster, smoother way of getting private 5G projects moving.
Because the risk of not doing so is far greater and could leave the UK falling behind on the world stage for decades to come.