Accelerating the rollout of 5G SA would unlock £230 billion in economic benefit by 2035, according to analysis by Assembly Research, on behalf of BT. An increase in capacity in the busiest parts of the country would deliver the biggest boost, of about £124 billion, by allowing businesses to adopt new technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics more effectively, in turn increasing the UK’s attractiveness as an investment destination.
“Telecoms stands out as a rare success story among regulated industries,” says Matthew Howett, founder of Assembly Research, praising Ofcom for embracing competition and “giving companies the confidence to invest”.
“While prices in sectors like energy and water have climbed and quality has fallen, telecoms operators have delivered faster, more reliable networks at lower prices than a decade ago. Few industries can boast that consumers can get more, use more, while paying less.”
“Altnets need to be credited with being the catalyst for the speed at which [the rollout] has happened,” says Assembly’s Howett. “It would have happened eventually, but it would probably have been on a much slower, more gradual curve.”
