The European 5G Conference on 28-29 January 2025 in Brussels, Belgium brought together industry leaders, policymakers, and experts to discuss the future of 5G and its impact on Europe’s digital transformation. During his keynote speech, the BEREC Chair Robert Mourik (ComReg, Ireland) highlighted BEREC’s aim of helping to establish an appropriate new regulatory framework, fit for purpose. Reflecting on BEREC's input to the European Commission's public consultation on the White Paper How to master Europe's digital infrastructure needs?, he highlighted competition as remaining the most powerful tool for ensuring operators have incentives to invest and innovate. He highlighted that 5G is a crucial enabler of Europe’s digital transformation, emphasizing its role in advancing innovation, connectivity, and economic growth.
“We are making progress towards the target. More than 80% of the European population have 5G coverage, and demand for private networks is starting to increase. 5G’s main business case is making data transport cheaper, and with the market moving towards an era of Heterogenous Networks, 5G is a good fit.”
Robert Mourik (ComReg, Ireland), BEREC Chair 2025
BEREC notes the growing importance of network security and resilience in Europe and globally. Katja Kmet Vrcko (AKOS, Slovenia), the Co-Chair of the BEREC Cybersecurity and Resilience Working Group, highlighted at the Fireside chat regulation as being helpful, however, certainly not being a solution. Instead, the focus should be on cooperation between institutions, and exchanging of information and good practices. The discussion explored the measures taken by both connectivity providers and regulators to mitigate risks, as well as the possible cybersecurity challenges, securing the next-generation networks.
BEREC Chair 2025 Robert Mourik (ComReg, Ireland) at the European 5G Conference.
BEREC Cybersecurity and Resilience Working Group Co-Chair Katja Kmet Vrčko (AKOS, Slovenia) at the European 5G Conference.