Ericsson's CTO says governments are ill-prepared for the advent of 5G, as mobile broadband adoption is set to explode
- Governments aren't prepared for the adoption of 5G, Ericsson CTO Erik Ekudden told Business Insider at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
- In five years, the population of the world with access to mobile broadband will go from less than 60% to 92%, he said.
- Ericsson thinks it needs to close the educational gap for industry leaders and governments.
As the world races to adopt 5G, there are concerns that governments aren't ready.
"Governments aren't as prepared as we had hoped," Ericsson CTO Erik Ekudden said on Tuesday, speaking to Business Insider at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Ekudden said that governments don't fully understand what the infrastructure can do for consumers and enterprises and that the change will be so revolutionary that countries will need experts who are dedicated to making sure digital infrastructure is updated, as telecom companies do.
Ericsson, a Swedish telecom company, needs to close the educational gap for industry leaders and governments, he said.
Ekudden said less than 60% of the world's population has mobile broadband today. In five years, that figure will hit about 92%. In the US alone, 55% of the population will have mobile 5G subscriptions, from zero today.
5G is the fifth - and next - generation of wireless technology. It's expected to deliver faster speed than the current 4G LTE standard, and allow for "internet of things" deployments.
Industry analysts also say the change will revolutionize technology.
"Every industry, every vertical, and nearly every aspect of humanity will be impacted. 5G is being considered a 'general purpose technology' or 'GPT' like the wheel, steam power, electricity, the computer, and the Internet," analysts at Cowen wrote in September.
And the GSMA, a trade body for mobile network operators, anticipates IoT revenue to increase 313% by 2025, to $1.1 trillion.