Norway has just opened the door for all private companies to set up their own private 5G mobile networks. This has already been possible in both Germany and Sweden since 2020. But in Denmark, you either have to buy an expensive license or a subscription from a telecommunications company to use the fifth-generation mobile network (5G).
“Wireless fiber connection”
5G mobile networks can provide approximately as high bandwidth as fiber networks, and have particular advantages when many machines and technical installations have to communicate with each other and the outside world because it does not inherently require wires.
Dumb Denmark
According to telecommunications analyst Torben Rune, who runs the consulting company Teleanalyse, this places Denmark in a dumb position in relation to private 5G networks in Europe. Torben Rune has been a consultant on projects like the Silvertown tunnel project in London and several other infrastructure projects.
Would have been good for the Fehmarn Tunnel
– The Fehmarn Tunnel would have benefited from such private 5G networks. They are built everywhere in Europe and serve a multitude of purposes. In a tunnel, it will typically be IoT (Internet of Things / machine-to-machine communication) applications and connection to special machines such as cleaning, pumps, signs, display screens, and so on, which require higher bandwidth, Torben Rune says.
Flexibility and security of supply
A private 5G network instead of a paid subscription with a telecommunications company provides both more flexibility and higher security of supply. Torben Rune, therefore, believes that it is a mistake that companies cannot set up their own private 5G networks license-free in Denmark:
– The advantage of the private 5G networks is that they are isolated from mobile companies and thus not affected even if a mobile company goes down. At the same time, the private 5G networks are often also exempt from the billion-dollar licenses – and this also applies to the private 5G networks in Norway. It can be seen as a distinct shortcoming if only the German part of the tunnel can use that technology, says Torben Rune.
