Where are we now with 5G in the Netherlands? That is a question that is often asked to me. In May, a special committee issued its advice on (Private) 5G to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate (EZK).
In this blog you will discover the outcome of this advice. And what the consequences are for innovative Netherlands.
5G auction date postponed
The advice to the EZK concerns the 3.5 GHz spectrum. According to the original planning, this spectrum should have been auctioned to the public networks last year. Unfortunately, the thorny situation with Inmarsat threw a spanner in the works. The recently issued advice now mentions an auction date of mid-December 2023.
This is bad news for innovative Netherlands. Companies that are now considering purchasing 5G as digital infrastructure for their business are expected to postpone this decision.
Bright spot for Private 5G
An important bright spot in the advice is the spectrum for Private 5G purposes. After intensive consultation between market parties and the government, the advice was made to allocate a connected piece of spectrum of 100MHz for Private 5G applications.
This is good news for innovative Netherlands! This has greatly increased the possibilities for a private 5G network.
Extensive 5G testing options in Do IoT Fieldlab
As MCS we are very active in the Do IoT Field LabIn this project, we are investigating (the possibilities of) 5G use cases together with TU Delft, TNO, SURF, BTG and other partners.
Innovative Netherlands can therefore simply come to us with their innovative ideas of the future to test them in practice on one of our 5G networks. Due to the late auction date of the 5G spectrum, there is now more time to extensively test with 5G. And to discover the various possibilities of this groundbreaking technology.
Continue testing for feasibility
In addition to the Do IoT Fieldlab, we will also continue to seek collaboration with other parties. This way, we can continue to test the 5G variants of the future for technical and commercial feasibility.
Knowing more
In our blogs we will share our future experiences with interested readers. Do you want to know more about 5G and the possibilities at MCS now? Then take a look here.
During our Smart Week of IoT Nokia, Do IoT Fieldlab and MCS will also tell you more about 5G. What possibilities does a Private LTE/5G IP network offer and how do you integrate IoT solutions? Register quickly and enrich your knowledge!
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