March 1, 2016

According to the European Commission, by 2020, there will be 26 billion connected devices and 70% of people will own a smartphone.  5G will be the backbone of the EU Digital Single Market, industries of the future, modern public services and innovative applications such as connected cars, smart homes or mobile health services.  To face this global challenge, the EU has joined forces with Brazil to strengthen cooperation in this strategic area and to make sure that 5G does not develop in silos at the international level.  The EU and Brazil, which are close trading partners, have been cooperating on information and communication technologies since 2008.

Commissioner Oettinger and Brazilian Minister of Communications André Figueiredo signed a joint declaration at last week’s Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona. This agreement follows similar key cooperation initiatives with South Korea, Japan and China.

The EU and Brazil have committed to developing a global definition of 5G and to identifying which services (for example connected cars, the Internet of Things or very high-definition video streaming) should be the first to be delivered by 5G networks.  The two partners will also work to define common standards and cooperate in identifying the most promising radio frequencies to meet the additional spectrum requirements for 5G.  In addition, they will promote the deployment of 5G in fields like smart cities, agro-food, education, health, transport or energy as well as possibilities for joint research projects in this area.

Cooperation agreements are also being discussed with India and the United States.

Commissioner Oettinger said: “After landmark agreements with China, Japan and South Korea, today’s cooperation initiative with Brazil is a new key step towards 5G.  Neither Europe, nor Brazil can afford to lag behind in the digital era.  With today’s agreement we have notably committed to cooperating on the take-up of 5G in so-called vertical industries such as transport or energy.  International agreements are complementary to our efforts to deploy the technology in the EU and the work we are starting today to prepare a 5G action plan for the EU”.  To read the Commission’s press release in full, click here.