The new 5G Observatory, which tracks the development of 5G networks in Europe, is now up and running.
The European Commission’s online platform of the 5G Observatory and the Observatory’s first quarterly report were presented on September 27th, 2018 at the 5G Techritory forum in Riga, Latvia.
5G innovation is already happening in Europe. More than 114 pre-commercial trials and pilots of 5G-supported products and services are underway, and 20 trial cities have been designated, and three EU countries have published national 5G roadmaps. Nevertheless, Europe needs to ensure that it stays up-to-date with developments in countries such as China, Japan, South Korea and the US, and has its voice heard when new global technical standards are devised.
The Commission’s 5G Observatory will support this by gathering and sharing information in the following areas:
main 5G market developments in the EU and internationally;
5G pre-commercial trials and commercial 5G launches;
national strategies and roadmaps by EU countries;
spectrum assignments by public authorities.
The Observatory will help the Commission to implement its 5G Action Plan: an initiative to coordinate the deployment of 5G technologies across all EU countries, support the development of common technical standards, and promote 5G innovation. As part of the Action Plan, the Commission is working with EU countries to drive 5G deployment along a network of pan-European 5G corridors. As a first step, several experimental 5G cross-border corridors have been created that will make it possible to test Connected and Automated Mobility services.
The first quarterly report of the Observatory highlights key trends in 5G development, noting that European progress has significantly accelerated since the end of 2017, and also assess the steps taken by Europe’s global competitors.
3.4-3.8 GHz auctions
Auctions in mid-bands are heating up. Prices are going up for these coveted frequencies. Auctions have already taken place in some EU countries, including Finland, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Italy, Spain, and the UK.
Finland and Italy processes have just ended.
The 3410-3800 MHz auctions ended on October 1st, 2018 in Finland. They raised 77.6 million EUR in line with government base prices. The same amount of spectrum was proposed for sale in three licences valid from January 1st, 2019 to 2033. The three players in place received a 130 MHz license.
The process started mid-September and ended on October 2nd, 2018. The whole multi-band auction (700 MHz, 3.7 Ghz, 26 GHz) ended after 14 days of intense bidding, far above expectations, reaching 6.55 billion EUR of which 4 billion EUR for the highly-coveted mid-frequencies. The mi-band auction ended on October 2nd, 2018, 14 days after start and 171 rounds. Telecom Italia and Vodafone won the largest blocks of spectrum (80 MHz each) for approx.1.7 billion EUR each. Respectively they paid 1.694 billion EUR and 1.685 billion EUR. Wind and Iliad paid 483.9 million EUR each for 20 MHz of spectrum each (483.92 million EUR for Wind and 483.9 million EUR for Illiad). Overall, the 3.7 GHz auction hit over 4 billion EUR reaching 4.3 billion EUR. The average price of spectrum closed at 18 cEUR/MHz/PoP/10 years significantly higher than in the UK or in Spain.
Earlier in 2018, spectrum auctions in 3.4-3.8 GHz took place in the UK and Spain respectively in April and July.
In the UK, the auction raised 1.33 billion EUR (1.16 billion GBP) for 150 MHz of TDD spectrum in 3.4-3.6 GHz frequencies. The maximum acquired by a single operator was 50 MHz (Vodafone). On a per MHz per PoP for 10 years basis, the price for 3.4-3.6 GHz spectrum in the UK reached 14 cEUR.
3.6-3.8 GHz Spanish spectrum auctions ended mid-July 2018. The auction of full spectrum reached bids of 437.7 million EUR, far above the reserve price of 100 million EUR (2.5 million EUR per block). However, the auction achieved a per MHz per PoP for 10 years low value of 2 cEUR. No market player got the 120 MHz spectrum cap per bidder set by the regulator (Vodafone won 90 MHz of spectrum, Telefonica 50 MHz, Orange Spain 60 MHz).
5G chipsets and devices
Five 5G chipsets have been announced so far, all operating in sub-6 GHz frequencies. Three out of the five will be lade available at year-end 2018: the Qualcomm X50, the Balong 5G01 from Hi-Silicon and the Samsung Exynos 5100. The Intel XMM 8060 and the Helio M70 from Mediatek will come in 2019 or 2020. On the paper, those chipset seem fairly similar, with support for 5G NR radio interface, both in Non Standalone (NSA) and Standalone, up to 8 channel aggregation, 256 QAM modulation in the downlink and support for both sub 6 GHz frequency bands and mmWaves.
Six devices of which three from Huawei have announced so far. Huawei will soon release two CPEs the first one opearrting in sub-6 GHz frequencies, the second one mmwaves. The release of the third Huawei device named 5G Wifi is more uncertain. Samsung and Intel also announced devices. In August 2018, Motorola presented its 5G upgradable device, the Motorola Z3. Like other Motorola device, this smartphone support add-ons developed by Motorola as an extension of the device. With the 5G mod, Motorola Z3 users will be able to support Verizon 5G mobile network to be launched at the beginning of 2019. ZTE devices are to be launched at eyar-end 2018 or early 2019. LG has not announced any devices yet.
One5G and 5G-XCast organise a Full Day workshop titled “5G Advanced : The Next Evolution Step of 5G New Radio” (WS-14)
ONE5G has focused on key technology components for 5G New Radio (NR) Advanced, specifically extensions that support the cost-efficient provision of services both in Megacities and in Underserved Areas. This encompasses PHY/MAC link and multi-link advancements as well as network and user experienced E2E performance optimization and context awareness specifically for the vertical sector.
Broadcast and Multicast Communication centric 5G-Xcast project aims at developing media delivery solutions while taking into account the more extensive use cases of 5G including services to vehicles, public safety and health, IoT etc. to ensure they dovetail together.
They also have a special session, “The Local Impact of 5G” to attract regional SMEs and Startups.
SliceNet also organises an Industry Panel “5G Network Slice Management” on Dec. 11th, 8h30 am.
MWC’19
Barcelona, Spain- February 25-28, 2019
The next MWC will be again a major promotion opportunity for 5G PPP projects. 5G IA and 5G PPP participation are on going. A stand has been booked.
More information disclosed later as the organisation progresses.
ICT-2018: Imagine Digital – Connect Europe
Vienna, Austria – December 4-6
ICT 2018: Imagine Digital – Connect Europe will take place in Vienna on 4-6 December 2018. This research and innovation event will focus on the European Union’s priorities in the digital transformation of society and industry. It will present an opportunity for the people involved in this transformation to share their experience and vision of Europe in the digital age.
The event is organised by the European Commission and the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
ICT 2018 will have four main components converging around the theme Imagine Digital – Connect Europe: Conference, Exhibition, Networking opportunities and Innovation and Startups forum. The Conference programme will feature influential speakers and debates around the EU’s digital policy. The programme will involve relevant parties from industry, research and public bodies. The ‘Imagine18’ campaign will reach out to generations ranging from teenagers to the elderly to learn how citizens feel about the digital revolution and its effects on daily life. As part of the ICT 2018 Exhibition programme, EU-funded research and innovation successes will be presented to the public. Visitors will also have the chance to meet the innovators behind these projects. The Innovation and Startups forum will bring together market-oriented innovators and investors, and will present marketable research and innovation results from EU-funded projects.
Explore the conference and the exhibition here. Registration is open.
5G PPP projects will be very active. There will be four 5G PPP related booths and networking sessions:
A 5G PPP ‘Information Kiosk’ where videos, brochures and flyers will be displayed
A 5G PPP ‘Demo booth’ where some projects will show their demos.
5G Brasil is hosting the 6th Global 5G Event – 5G Technology Changing Paradigms of a New Society – with other leading 5G organizations from China, European Union, Japan, Republic of Korea and United States of America on November 28-30, 2018 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The Global 5G Event is an event where the world’s leading 5G organizations will discuss the latest research and development achievements and views on 5G. About 50 experts from around the world, including business leaders, researchers, engineers, professors, technical experts and policymakers, will present their views on 5G in eight panels and four keynote sessions. The following aspects on 5G will be addressed: government policies, challenges, opportunities, spectrum harmonization, regulatory issues, standardization process, research and technological trends, infrastructure, trials, precommercial launches, vertical markets and use cases.
Confirmed speakers and panelists will be announced soon. For more information on the program of the Symposium, visit http://5gbrasil.telebrasil.org.br
The following Global 5G Event will be coupled with EuCNC’19 in Valencia, Spain in June 2019. The Global 5G Events will become annual as from 2019. The 8th Global 5G Event will be orgnaised in 2020 in China.
In addition to the latest NFV and SDN concepts and mechanisms, the 2018 IEEE NFV-SDN conference will focus on first operational results related to virtualized networks functions (VNFs) as well as designing, describing, orchestrating, and managing new applications made of VNFs which smarten networks and their usage.
Berlin, Germany – November 12-16 (12-16 for Berlin 5G Week, 15-16 for FFF)
During the two days of the FFF’18 and together with leading operators, manufacturers, integrators, and solution providers the objectives will be to understand and assess 5G-related technologies, infrastructures, and their use in various business sectors enabling innovative business models, value chains, productivity gains, and new revenue opportunities. In addition, the emphasis will be on the challenges of 5G rollout, legacy interworking, and migration.
On November 15th, Jean-Pierre Bienaimé, 5G IA Secretary, will co-chair a track (track 4) on “Getting 5G ready: Testbeds & Rollouts” with Stefan Covaci, Fraunhofer FOKUS and Dr. Ashutosh Dutta, AT&T, USA.
Additional information and program is available here.
TU-Automotive Europe 2018
Munich, Germany – October 30-31
The 16th annual TU-Automotive Europe Conference & Exhibition (30-31 October, Infinity Hotel & Conference Resort, Munich) – Europe’s largest event for the connected car – will discuss how to collaborate and integrate through partnerships, understand consumer needs and more. Speakers include Renault Group, Skoda, Renault Nissan Alliance, NIO and more. Dr. Colin Willcock, Chair of the 5G Infrastructure Association will be there and speak at two sessions on Tuesday 30 October : The Data Fuelled Vehicle@11:40 am and Through the fog – Cloud vs. Edge @16:35 pm.
Main topics include:
When do we make money with mobility?
Mobility as a Service – Adapting to a new ecosystem
Connected Commerce in the Car – The New Consumer Marketplace
Investing in the Future of Mobility – Adding value to the customer journey
Customer Experience as one of the key new paradigm of the automobile
The Key to Securely Drive Current and Future OEM Business Models
Enjoy the 100 USD discount code (5GPPP100) on prices to attend the conference if you are a 5G IA member or a subscriber to the 5G PPP newsflash/newsletter!
The editor of the 5G PPP newsflash on behalf of the To-Euro-5G Project is: Carole Manero, IDATE DigiWorld, CS94167 – 34092 Montpellier cedex 5, France. The IDATE DigiWorld team is led by Frédéric Pujol. This document reflets the views only of its authors.
The 3410-3800 MHz auctions ended on October 1st, 2018 in Finland. They raised 77.6 million EUR in line with government base prices. The same amount of spectrum was proposed for sale in three licences valid from January 1st, 2019 to 2033. The three players in place received a 130 MHz license.
One5G and 5G-XCast organise a Full Day workshop titled “5G Advanced : The Next Evolution Step of 5G New Radio” (
SliceNet also organises an Industry Panel “5G Network Slice Management” on Dec. 11th, 8h30 am.
The next MWC will be again a major promotion opportunity for 5G PPP projects. 5G IA and 5G PPP participation are on going. A stand has been booked.
ICT 2018: Imagine Digital – Connect Europe will take place in Vienna on 4-6 December 2018. This research and innovation event will focus on the European Union’s priorities in the digital transformation of society and industry. It will present an opportunity for the people involved in this transformation to share their experience and vision of Europe in the digital age.
The 16th annual TU-Automotive Europe Conference & Exhibition (30-31 October, Infinity Hotel & Conference Resort, Munich) – Europe’s largest event for the connected car – will discuss how to collaborate and integrate through partnerships, understand consumer needs and more. Speakers include Renault Group, Skoda, Renault Nissan Alliance, NIO and more. Dr. Colin Willcock, Chair of the 5G Infrastructure Association will be there and speak at two sessions on Tuesday 30 October : The Data Fuelled Vehicle@11:40 am and Through the fog – Cloud vs. Edge @16:35 pm.
