The European Union adopted in April 2016 the 5G Action Plan for Europe [PDF][460.98 KB] establishing a common roadmap for achieving a homogeneous 5G deployment in the Union. The aim of the Plan is to promote coordination among Member States in order to improve European competitiveness in the development of this emerging technology.
On the basis of the Action Plan, the governments of the Member States have been establishing their roadmaps for the deployment of 5G. In the case of Spain, the National Plan 5G It marks the steps to be taken in the introduction of this fifth generation of mobile broadband, including the management and planning of the radio spectrum necessary for the provision of communications services based on 5G networks.
In addition, as a result of the strategic importance of the deployment of 5G technology, the EU Member States signed, in July 2017, the Tallinn Ministerial Declaration about 5G, which identifies the steps needed to achieve success in deploying this technology in Europe:
- Make more spectrum available to the industry in a predictable and fast way. Encourage pioneering agents and facilitate the learning and adoption of best practices in a transparent way.
- Reinforce the basic principles of spectrum management.
- Coverage and connectivity obligations will initially focus on large cities and along major communication routes.
- Maintain the global interoperability 5G.
- Facilitate the deployment of the optical fiber.
- Facilitate the deployment of “small cells” (sites of small size and limited coverage).
- Start a strategic dialogue with all the agents.
Although spectrum band allocations for the use of 5G services are agreed at the World Radiocommunication Conferences of the International Telecommunication Union, the frequency bands to be used in the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) are not included in the spectrum band allocations. 5G launch in the European Union [PDF][130.63 KB] are established by the Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG), a high-level advisory body that assists the European Commission in the development of spectrum policy, through its Opinions, documents relating to the challenges of implementing 5G. In January 2019, and after submitting its content to a public consultation, the RSPG has approved the Strategic spectrum roadmap towards 5G for Europe, third Opinion identifying the challenges of implementing 5G in Europe.
The European Commission has launched the European Observatory of 5G with the aim of monitoring market developments, including pilot experiences and other actions carried out by the Industry and the Member States in the context of the implementation of 5G. The Observatory will be able to evaluate the progress of the European 5G Action Plan, as well as take measures to implement it in its entirety. In addition, it broadcasts reports on the main issues that Member States should take into consideration in the preparation and implementation of their national 5G plans.
On the other hand, and within the Strategy for the Digital Single Market, the Digitising European Industry initiative establishes 5G standardization as one of its main axes, generating private public partnerships (PPP) promoted by the European Commission, in line with the 5G Action Plan in Europe.
Finally, the European Commission has adopted one Recommendation on the Cybersecurity of 5G networks calling on Member States to complete national risk assessments, reviewing national measures and working together at EU level on a coordinated risk assessment and a set of common mitigation measures. The Member States, including Spain, have effectively carried out this evaluation, transmitting the results to the Commission and to ENISA (EU Cybersecurity Agency), and issuing, in October 2019, a report on the EU coordinated risk assessment on cybersecurity for fifth generation networks (5G).