The National Infrastructure Commission asked ITRC-MISTRAL to explore the costs of rolling out a 5G network (high-speed mobile digital service) across Britain, and providing 5G along the road and rail network.
Despite considerable uncertainty around 5G, including the absence of a 5G standard and no indication of the costs of 5G-enabled equipment, we were able to offer analytics to support the development of the UK’s 5G strategy.
Our analysis showed that providing near-ubiquitous 5G coverage across Great Britain would be prohibitively expensive, based on current market structures. A roll-out programme that was restricted to urban and suburban areas would be economically viable, as would providing 5G connectivity on the road and rail network.
