IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/telpol/v45y2021i8s0308596121001208.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

European Union policy on 5G: Context, scope and limits

Author

Listed:
  • Robles-Carrillo, Margarita

Abstract

5G is considered a key technology for society but its implementation is currently surrounded by controversy. Beyond its technical aspects, 5G has become a question of security and national interest for many States as well as an international policy issue. Technological autonomy and digital sovereignty are increasingly recognised as strategic priorities on a global scale. In this context, the EU's position is unique, basically for two reasons. On the one hand, the EU has unintentionally become part of the playing field in the US-China dispute over technology companies and 5G. On the other hand, any policy of the EU or its Member States is constrained by the nature of 5G as an area of either European or national competence. The delimitation of their competences is not clear, just as there is no transparent and understandable distinction of their 5G responsibilities. In order to clarify this situation, a comprehensive analysis of the European competence and legal frameworks is necessary. After that, the study of the evolution process of this European policy provides an overview of its scope and limits. Finally, the paper explains the procedures and instruments of this European policy and concludes by assessing its implementation and development prospects. The possibility of reaching technological autonomy and digital sovereignty for the EU and its member states depends, for the time being, on this European policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Robles-Carrillo, Margarita, 2021. "European Union policy on 5G: Context, scope and limits," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(8).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:telpol:v:45:y:2021:i:8:s0308596121001208
    DOI: 10.1016/j.telpol.2021.102216
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308596121001208
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.telpol.2021.102216?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ilan Alon & Wenxian Zhang & Christoph Lattemann, 2021. "The Case for Regulating Huawei," FIIB Business Review, , vol. 10(3), pages 202-204, September.
    2. Cartwright, Madison, 2020. "Internationalising state power through the internet: Google, Huawei and geopolitical struggle," Internet Policy Review: Journal on Internet Regulation, Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG), Berlin, vol. 9(3), pages 1-18.
    3. Fu, Xiaolan & Sun, Zhongjuan & Ghauri, Pervez N., 2018. "Reverse knowledge acquisition in emerging market MNEs: The experiences of Huawei and ZTE," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 202-215.
    4. Oughton, Edward J. & Frias, Zoraida, 2018. "The cost, coverage and rollout implications of 5G infrastructure in Britain," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(8), pages 636-652.
    5. Matinmikko, Marja & Latva-aho, Matti & Ahokangas, Petri & Seppänen, Veikko, 2018. "On regulations for 5G: Micro licensing for locally operated networks," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(8), pages 622-635.
    6. Kerstin J. Schaefer, 2020. "Catching up by hiring: The case of Huawei," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(9), pages 1500-1515, December.
    7. Cave, Martin, 2018. "How disruptive is 5G?," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(8), pages 653-658.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Heikkilä, Jussi & Rissanen, Julius & Ali-Vehmas, Timo, 2023. "Coopetition, standardization and general purpose technologies: A framework and an application," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(4).
    2. da Ponte, Aureliano & Leon, Gonzalo & Alvarez, Isabel, 2023. "Technological sovereignty of the EU in advanced 5G mobile communications: An empirical approach," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(1).
    3. Gisca, Oxana & Matinmikko-Blue, Marja & Ahokangas, Petri & Yrjolä, Seppo & Gordon, Jillian, 2023. "Regulatory challenges and implications of the European electronic communications code (EECC) for local mobile communication network business," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(10).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Edward J. Oughton & Ashutosh Jha, 2021. "Supportive 5G Infrastructure Policies are Essential for Universal 6G: Assessment using an Open-source Techno-economic Simulation Model utilizing Remote Sensing," Papers 2102.08086, arXiv.org, revised Jun 2021.
    2. Hoeschele, Thomas & Dietzel, Christoph & Kopp, Daniel & Fitzek, Frank H.P. & Reisslein, Martin, 2021. "Importance of Internet Exchange Point (IXP) infrastructure for 5G: Estimating the impact of 5G use cases," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(3).
    3. da Ponte, Aureliano & Leon, Gonzalo & Alvarez, Isabel, 2023. "Technological sovereignty of the EU in advanced 5G mobile communications: An empirical approach," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(1).
    4. Queder, Fabian & Lehr, William & Haucap, Justus, 2020. "5G and Mobile Broadband Disruption," ITS Conference, Online Event 2020 224872, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    5. Oughton, Edward J. & Comini, Niccolò & Foster, Vivien & Hall, Jim W., 2022. "Policy choices can help keep 4G and 5G universal broadband affordable," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    6. Gisca, Oxana & Matinmikko-Blue, Marja & Ahokangas, Petri & Yrjölä, Seppo & Gordon, Jillian, 2022. "Legitimacy challenges of local private 5G and beyond networks in Europe," 31st European Regional ITS Conference, Gothenburg 2022: Reining in Digital Platforms? Challenging monopolies, promoting competition and developing regulatory regimes 265631, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    7. Bauer, Johannes M. & Bohlin, Erik, 2022. "Regulation and innovation in 5G markets," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(4).
    8. Wu, Sihong & Fan, Di & Su, Yiyi, 2021. "The Co-Evolution of Global Legitimation and Technology Upgrading: The Case of Huawei," American Business Review, Pompea College of Business, University of New Haven, vol. 24(2), pages 147-172, November.
    9. Forge, Simon & Vu, Khuong, 2020. "Forming a 5G strategy for developing countries: A note for policy makers," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(7).
    10. Ahokangas, Petri & Matinmikko-Blue, Marja & Yrjölä, Seppo & Hämmäinen, Heikki, 2021. "Platform configurations for local and private 5G networks in complex industrial multi-stakeholder ecosystems," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(5).
    11. Jeon, Chunmi & Han, Seung Hun & Kim, Hyeong Joon & Kim, Sangsoo, 2022. "The effect of government 5G policies on telecommunication operators’ firm value: Evidence from China," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(2).
    12. Rabah Arezki & Vianney Dequiedt & Rachel Yuting Fan & Carlo Maria Rossotto, 2021. "Working Paper 352 - Liberalization, Technology Adoption, and Stock Returns: Evidence from Telecom," Working Paper Series 2478, African Development Bank.
    13. Markendahl, Jan & Beckman, Claes, 2022. "Can local 5G networks using local spectrum be used as platform for digitalization of industrial systems and services?," 31st European Regional ITS Conference, Gothenburg 2022: Reining in Digital Platforms? Challenging monopolies, promoting competition and developing regulatory regimes 265657, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    14. Houngbonon, Georges Vivien & Ivaldi, Marc & Palikot, Emil & Strusani, Davide, 2023. "The Impact of Shared Telecom Infrastructure on Digital Connectivity and Inclusion," TSE Working Papers 23-1427, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    15. Godinho, Manuel Mira & Simões, Vítor Corado, 2023. "The Tech Cold War: What can we learn from the most dynamic patent classes?," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(6).
    16. Arezki,Rabah & Dequiedt,Vianney & Fan,Yuting & Rossotto,Carlo Maria, 2021. "Liberalization, Technology Adoption, and Stock Returns : Evidence from Telecom," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9561, The World Bank.
    17. Cui, Lin & Gao, Qiuling & Guo, Jinyu & Ma, Pengcheng, 2022. "OFDI performance of EMNEs: A review and recommendations for future research," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(3).
    18. Makoza, Frank, 2024. "The effect of mobile network quality on use of mobile application in Affordable Inputs Program of Malawi," EconStor Preprints 302572, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    19. Oughton, Edward J. & Lehr, William & Katsaros, Konstantinos & Selinis, Ioannis & Bubley, Dean & Kusuma, Julius, 2021. "Revisiting Wireless Internet Connectivity: 5G vs Wi-Fi 6," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(5).
    20. Yanting Gu & Fiorenza Belussi & Rajneesh Narula, 2023. "Entering European countries: advantages and difficulties for Chinese electric vehicle firms," "Marco Fanno" Working Papers 0302, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche "Marco Fanno".

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:telpol:v:45:y:2021:i:8:s0308596121001208. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/30471/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.