5G whizz: the future of mobile technology

Michelle Adams and Kuljeet Takhar assess what the government’s 5G testbed and trials programme in the West Midlands will mean for the UK’s online future 5G is the next generation of mobile technology, which is expected to deliver faster and better mobile broadband services to consumers and businesses, and enable innovative new services for industry sectors including manufacturing, transport, immersive technologies and healthcare. This will be made up of an intricate patchwork of technologies including Long Term Evolution-Advanced, Wi-Fi and 5G New Radio, and will utilise a range of spectrum frequencies including reformed existing bands, new bands (below 6GHz) and mmWave spectrum. The potential applications of 5G are endless, and various sectors have adopted different technologies that will transform people’s daily lives. The healthcare sector, for instance, has plans to use video links using 5G for hospital outpatient appointments and emergency consultations. It also proposes to have connected ambulances, whereby paramedics working in the field are able to live video stream specialist guidance and assistance from other healthcare professionals. The transport sector intends to test autonomous and driverless vehicles, seeking to prevent major accidents, improve traffic flow and reduce energy consumption. Another proposed application of 5G is live streaming of CCTV footage on public transport in order to tackle antisocial behaviour. “Intelligent cameras” using artificial intelligence would be able to identify incidents. The 5G West Midlands testbed The West Midlands region was selected to be the first multi-city, large-scale testbed for 5G in September 2018. The programme is due to go live in the early part of 2019, and it is expected that the testing period may be anything from three months to a year. The information produced will be analysed and scrutinised by the participants in the 5G testbed, government organisations and other stakeholders within the programme. In terms of the eventual introduction of 5G, mobile network operators (MNOs) are closely guarding their respective roll-out programmes across the UK. It is uncertain what the real cost of the 5G roll-out programme is and what the actual price will be for the customer. It is clear that there is a huge investment to be made up front so that it is more cost-effective for the end-user. As a result, this testbed and trials programme is being used to iron out any issues surrounding the infrastructure, the costs involved, the technology being used and how it is to be implemented. We anticipate that the key dates will be as outlined in the table above. The impact of the Electronic Communications Code 2017 The Electronic Communications Code 2017 (the Code) was brought into force to implement the government’s initiative to have better telecoms infrastructure throughout the UK and to make it easier and cheaper to deploy mobile infrastructure. The old telecommunications code was outdated and not fit for purpose. The government decided that telecoms infrastructure should now to be in line with that of utilities in the UK as it is a necessary requirement and the rents of such infrastructure should reflect that. As a result, the rents are now lower, based on the new valuations in line with the legislation, and there has been a change in the market whereby landlords are reluctant to engage in conversations when renewing such telecoms agreements. In some cases, landlords are arguing that there is no incentive for them to assist with the roll-out of 5G and to improve telecoms infrastructure in the UK as a result of the nominal rents compared with previous commercial rents. At present, MNOs are proactively testing the interpretation of the ECC in the UK courts, seeking clarification in order to settle the market and progress the roll-out of 5G in line with the government’s initiative. There have been a number of test cases over the course of 2018, most notably Cornerstone Telecommunications Infrastructure Ltd v University of London [2018] UKUT 356 (LC); [2018] PLSCS 188. Other developments In addition, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport’s consultation “Ensuring tenants’ access to gigabit-capable connections”, which closed on 21 December, includes proposals to amend the Code to place an obligation on a landlord to facilitate the deployment of digital infrastructure on receipt of a request from a tenant, and to enable MNOs and other communication providers to use the magistrates courts to gain entry to premises where the landlord fails to respond to a request for improved or new digital infrastructure. It must be remembered that there remain opportunities for landlords to invest privately in providing better connectivity within their properties in order to attract high-calibre tenants. One example is the recent letting to the Economist Group on Church Street in Birmingham. The multinational media company will use these premises as its technological hub. It will be interesting to see how quickly others follow suit. The future of online – expected timetable 28 Dec 17 Electronic Communications Code 2017 (the Code) came into force Sep 18 West Midlands selected for the testbed programme 21 Dec 18 Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) consultation “Ensuring tenants’ access to gigabit-capable connections” closed Jan-Mar 19 West Midlands testbed programme to go live Mar-Sep 19 Testing period – findings to be considered with DCMS and other stakeholders in the programme 2019 Government proposes to undertake a formal review of the Code to assess its impact 2020 5G national roll-out to commence 2022 Government aims to have 95% geographical coverage of 4G 2025 Government aims to have 15m premises connected to full fibre 2027 Government aims for the UK to be a world leader in 5G, with the majority of the population covered by a 5G signal 2033 Government aims for UK national full fibre coverage Michelle Adams is a senior associate and Kuljeet Takhar is an associate in the real estate litigation team at Squire Patton Boggs (UK) LLP