Swisscom confirms that it is facing hurdles on its deployment of 5G technology. The company says strict government regulations curb its progress.
During a conference call with its investors, Swisscom CEO Urs Schaeppi says that they are receiving a lot of resistance from many government bodies. Moreover, the spread of fake news that target 5G deployment is also a huge problem.
Swisscom is hastening its rollout of new mobile technologies. The company plans to install upgraded antennas to some of its infrastructure, but has been stuck due to regulatory approvals.
In a statement, the Swisscom CEO said:
“In Switzerland, there is a big debate on 5G, a lot of fake news around 5G. And the government, actually, it’s not very supportive on this topic.”
Swisscom rollout stalls
One of the main culprit Swisscom points to is the Swiss government’s current safety standards when it comes to mobile frequency emission. The state-owned telecoms company said that these standards should be amended in order to properly cater the rollout of new mobile technologies.
In a landmark decision, Switzerland’s Federal Council decided to not make any amendments to its current 5G exposure limit. The council also aims to impose new regulations in monitoring the effects of next-generation technologies like 5G.
Private 5G network tested successfully at the 2020 Youth Olympic Games https://t.co/vJXGYg0p02
— Swisscom News EN (@swisscom_news_e) January 24, 2020
Another issue that stalls Swisscom’s 5G rollout is the government’s decision to adopt new measures in measuring radiation exposure. The government also plans to create a new environmental medical advice center for non-ionizing radiation.
The future of 5G
Many technology and communications expert agree that this technology is the future of mobile communication. Due to its improved bandwidth and latency, this next-generation technology allows the broader adoption of the Internet of Things.
Swisscom claims that its network coverage now covers 90% of the country’s population. The technology was initially launched in April 2019 to a handful of key cities and communities like Zurich, Bern, and Geneva. As the year progresses, the technology later found its way to other key destinations.
In February 2019, the Switzerland Federal Communications Commission was able to raise $395 million. The commission was able to raise this massive amount of money after it awarded frequencies to local mobile operators namely Sunrise, Salt, and Swisscom.
Swisscom is still struggling to upgrade its infrastructure. The company claims that it plans to decommission its old infrastructure by 2020, and completely replace it with new ones.
As of March 2020, Swisscom claims it has 6.3 million mobile access lines. The company aims to reach 100% 5G coverage by the end of the year.
Image courtesy of Tony Webster/Wikimedia Commons