EU telecom operators claim net neutrality regulations are holding back 5G roll out

EU carriers promise a faster 5G roll out if EU regulations ease up on Net Neutrality regulations. The current policies make the telecom service providers risk averse, as there are many uncertainties around the 5G rollout. A number of major operators have endorsed a 5G manifesto (.pdf) that demands more relaxed net neutrality regulations in order to implement 5G quickly. The companies that have endorsed the manifesto include Deutsche Telekom, Nokia, Orange, Hutchison Whampoa Europe, Telecom Italia, Vodafone and Telenor. Companies interested in getting involved with the 5G roll out include Airbus Defence and Space, Royal Philips and Siemens AG. The issue here is that the next generation of internet will have to manage delivery of content, and give preferential treatment for some kinds of data. 5G internet is expected to be used for the internet of things, smart cities, automated vehicles, high definition virtual reality content, delivery of essential services, and grid control. This means that the service delivered will have to be elastic, and adapt to demand. The resources allocated for particular tasks have to be easily reconfigured as per the current requirements. Fewer and simpler rules will stimulate investment by telecom companies in the sector. In India, Trai’s pre-consultation paper on free data takes a strong stand on net neutrality. There is a demand for less regulations in traffic management, the same demand being made by telecom operators in EU. This begs the question, if we do compromise on net neutrality regulations, will we get better internet, faster?