Colin Vaudin was speaking ahead of the publication of a strategy which sets out the direction of travel for the development of the technology and making the island one of the most digitally connected places in the world.
Among the opportunities for Guernsey was the potential for the island to be one of the first to trial out 5G.
‘Guernsey could be an early adopter,’ said Mr Vaudin.
‘It is well suited to be a test bed.’
Talks would be taking place with the telecommunications companies and Channel Islands Competition and Regulatory Authorities shortly to discuss the island’s potential further, he added.
Technology standards for 5G are yet to be set, meaning the exact impact of the associated infrastructure is not yet known.
However, Mr Vaudin said the States would be looking to work with all three of the telecoms companies and Cicra in regards to network sharing. At the moment the telecoms companies compete in a number of areas, including coverage and speed.
But with 5G, competition could be different.
‘The industry body (the GSMA) states that the introduction of 5G will see boundless connectivity,’ said Mr Vaudin.
If the provision was boundless, there is an argument that there would be no competition for coverage and speed. Therefore, it made less sense to have three different networks of 5G. While there is a loss of competition at the base of provision, there would be more competition in terms of customer experience and the cost to the customer.
‘While the telecommunications companies currently share parts of the network, it will most likely lead to greater sharing and it brings into question if they need three separate networks.’
He added that if there was greater network sharing, he would hope to see a reduction in the overall infrastructure impact.
‘We’re not only looking at this from working with the telecoms providers or the economic point of view but also the environment point of view,’ he added.
‘This would also want to reduce the amount of digging up of roads and installing antennas to reduce disruption and environmental impact.
‘We know there will be more antennas needed but we don’t know in detail yet how many more.’
Health impacts would also be explored.
Network sharing would also help to keep the costs down, he said.
‘Our belief from a policy perspective is that we can work with the telecoms providers to reduce the costs.
‘Government recognises that these are commercial decisions. There are certain areas where government could support the development and roll out of 5G.
‘We will be working with Cicra and the companies to understand what level of sharing they would like.’
Government could also support in areas such as planning permission and spectrum allocation.
Mr Vaudin added that the development of the technology was one of the key policy areas in the Policy & Resource Plan and also referenced in the medium term financial plan.
‘The States has identified Digital Infrastructure, that includes 5G, as critical and if funding was required, it would be subject to the normal process of justification and the development of a business case,’ he said.
‘As a technology, it isn’t 4G and a little bit faster. It is a new technology, which has got some opportunities and some challenges that is very different.
‘We’re working with Cicra to make sure we understand the standard as it’s being developed.
‘It will transform how people will use the internet. This is a huge opportunity for Guernsey and the island needs to get on-top of the challenges.’
The strategy was also an example of joined up government with three principle committees, Economic Development, Development and Planning Authority, Policy & Resources and Home Affairs, acting to deliver infrastructure, regulation and legislation going forward for the next five to 10 years.
What is 5G?
5G is the next generation of mobile internet connectivity, offering faster speeds and more reliable connections on smartphones and other devices.
It will combine cutting-edge network technology and the very latest research.
5G should offer connections that are multitudes faster than current networks, with average download speeds of around 1GBps expected to be the norm.
The networks, which will provide the infrastructure needed to carry huge amounts of data, are expected to launch across the world by 2020.
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