The GSMA says that half of the $62 billion additional cost “would be due to European operators being impacted by higher input costs following significant loss of competition in the mobile equipment market.”
The GSMA estimates the cost of installing 5G in Europe to be $568 billion.
“Additionally, operators would need to replace existing infrastructure before implementing 5G upgrades,” says the GSMA.
An estimated half of that goes to mobile capex.
With the European 5G roll-out now costing $630 billion, and the telcos only spending $24 billion a year on mobile capex, it’ll be 24 years before 5G is installed in Europe.
Unkess, no doubt urged on by the GSMA, European governments make up for the political decision to ban China switchgear by re-imbursing the telcos for the extra cost.
Source:electronicsweekly