Live from the 6G Global Summit in London: Mark Henry (pictured, left), director of network strategy and spectrum at BT Group, accuses the Republic of Ireland regulator of over-promising to vendors. During the session, he lamented the race to launch 5G and questioned the 6G investment case. new technology.
During the panel session, Henry called non-standalone 5G a “mistake” that effectively delayed the arrival of fully standalone “five years”.
“This was a bad deal and should never be done again.”
However, he added that non-standalone 5G was still a success.
“The business case for 5G is the most efficient way to deliver data capacity,” he said. “That promise has been fulfilled.” However, experts noted that the investment case for 6G is “much more difficult than for previous generations.”
Citing an expectation that data growth rates will slow even with new applications, Henry said he “doesn't want” the costs of deploying new physical infrastructure and the potential problems that come with adopting another new technology.
“What hurts the business case is getting millions of users onto a new system. Previously it happened relatively quickly, but now devices are being held by people for four years and over time It will get even longer.”
On a more positive note, Henry noted there is a potential argument for 6G if it can improve spectral efficiency along with potential sustainability benefits.
error
Later in the panel discussion, ComReg Ireland chair Robert Mourik (pictured, right) condemned what he perceived as misleading vendor advertising of new network technologies and urged them not to repeat the same with 6G. This appealed to the industry.
“I was hoping that some of the lessons of previous generations would be learned,” he said. “There's always a huge gap between what technology actually does and what it's advertised to provide.”
“There may be a good business case for 5G because it can provide data cheaper, but that was not the case with 5G,” Molik added. “I remember a vendor who came to us and what they would do is first invent a technology, and then they would bring in some economic consultants and explain to them how much value this technology has. That's why the country has to invest in it.”
He noted that institutions such as the European Commission set deployment targets based on these expectations.
“I think if we look to the future, we need to be realistic about what it can deliver,” he concluded.
