European 5G Observatory "Path to the Digital Decade"

The European 5G Observatory "Path to the Digital Decade" ('the Observatory’) will be the continuation and an extension of the current European 5G Observatory Phase III. The European 5G Observatory initiative was launched in 2018 as a platform to report on 5G network deployment progress and to act as a factual source of information on the development of the EU and global markets of 5G-related products and services. In this context, it has been a main source of information for the monitoring of the implementation of Europe’s 5G Action Plan and for EU policy support in the area of mobile broadband connectivity, leading more recently to the EU connectivity targets 2030.

Under the new contract, the Observatory will continue to support the Commission services in their policy work in the following key areas: monitoring and assessing the progress of 5G network deployment as well as the EU trajectories and national roadmaps in relation to the implementation of the 2030 Policy Programme “Path to the Digital Decade”, constituting an on-line searchable repository of 5G and 6G related market developments, of spectrum awards and spectrum uses, as well as of new policy initiatives in Member States and worldwide affecting the development of 5G/6G, collecting ad-hoc data on investments in infrastructures, and assisting the Commission services in their collaboration with Member States on 5G policies (KPIs, etc). The information and advice and opinions produced by the Observatory will contribute to the overall debate on achieving the EU objectives in the area of mobile broadband connectivity, including supporting the definition of appropriate KPIs in this respect, and the collection of data from Member States. The new Observatory should also strengthen its capacity to track developments in key economic areas outside the Union and enlarge its scope to include advanced 5G, other equivalent connectivity technologies and relevant infrastructures (like edge clouds or NaaS), as well as the early aspects regarding 6G.