The global race for implementing 5G mobile technologies has seen countries riding a new wave of wireless technologies. 5G—the next generation of mobile technologies—can enable a significantly higher level of performance over 4G mobile communications, providing a new layer of connectivity to support innovative, data-intensive applications. With the estimated impact of 5G on global gross domestic product to be in the trillions of US dollars, 5G’s deployment will drive innovation, job creation, worker productivity, and competitiveness across various sectors. Several use cases are already being tested, and deployment is under way in many countries. For some countries, 5G may seem a distant future prospect given the costs of infrastructure deployment and the need for expensive handsets; for other countries, 5G is an on-ramp to Industry 4.0 and has been folded into national strategy planning. 5G trials, pilots, and commercial deployments have been progressing around the world, but most deployments are in higher-income countries. Significant barriers remain for developing countries, many of which pertain to the challenges faced by the broader telecommunications sector and all of which threaten to further widen the digital divide and limit access to the economic opportunities that 5G connectivity enables. What does this reality mean for developing countries, and how can national governments prepare? "The Path to 5G in the Developing World: Planning Ahead for a Smooth Transition" surveys the technical capabilities of 5G and explores how countries can reach connectivity goals by using 5G as a layer of connectivity along with 4G and other technologies. This report also provides a guide for policy makers to better understand the opportunities, challenges, and risks posed by 5G so that they can plan for a policy and regulatory ecosystem that supports the path to advanced mobile network deployment, access, and adoption.
Authors
- Citation
- “ World Bank . 2024 . The Path to 5G in the Developing World: Planning Ahead for a Smooth Transition . Sustainable Infrastructure Series . © Washington, DC: World Bank . http://hdl.handle.net/10986/41689 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO . ”
- Collection(s)
- Sustainable Infrastructure
- DOI
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1596/978-1-4648-1604-8
- ISBN
- 978-1-4648-1604-8 (paper)
- Published in
- United States of America
- RelationisPartofseries
- Sustainable Infrastructure Series
- Rights
- CC BY 3.0 IGO
- Rights Holder
- World Bank
- Rights URI
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/
- UNIT
- Digital Development Global Practice
- URI
- https://hdl.handle.net/10986/41689
- date disclosure
- 2024-06-11
- region geographical
- World
Table of Contents
- Front Cover 1
- Contents 9
- Foreword 13
- Acknowledgments 15
- Executive Summary 17
- Abbreviations 25
- Chapter 1 Overview of 5G Technology: Capabilities and Global Adoption Trends 29
- Key Messages 29
- Introduction 30
- 5G Design Principles, Capabilities, and Enabling Technologies 32
- Costs and Investment Challenges 44
- Global 5G Deployment and Adoption Status 45
- 5G and Implications for the Digital Divide 48
- Notes 49
- Bibliography 50
- Chapter 2 5G-Enabled Economic Growth and Potential Applications for Smart Cities, Energy, Transport, and Agriculture 59
- Key Messages 59
- Benefits and Potential Impact of 5G Adoption 60
- 5G and Industry 4.0 62
- 5G and the SDGs 62
- 5G Use Cases in Four Industry Verticals 63
- Conclusion 71
- Bibliography 72
- Chapter 3 Managing the Risks of 5G Networks 79
- Key Messages 79
- Introduction 80
- Cybersecurity Risks 80
- Sustainability Risks: 5G’s Carbon Footprint and Impact on E-Waste 0
- Health Risks 94
- Notes 98
- Bibliography 100
- Chapter 4 Regulatory Imperatives, Policy Challenges, and Recommendations for Action 105
- Key Messages 105
- Introduction 105
- Spectrum Management 107
- Regulatory Frameworks 115
- Institutional Governance and Capacity Building 121
- Conclusion 123
- Notes 124
- Bibliography 126
- Appendixes 135
- Appendix A Selected International Standards for Assessing and Limiting Human Exposure to Radio Frequency Emissions 137
- Appendix B Selection of National Strategies Designed to Facilitate 5G-Enabling Environments 139
- Boxes 37
- Box 1.1 5G frequency ranges, spectrum bands, and usage scenarios 37
- Box 1.2 Will 5G fixed wireless access advance or remain as asupplementary option in broadband markets? 46
- Box 4.1 Facilitating 5G deployment through infrastructure sharing in India 116
- Box 4.2 A roadmap for the path to 5G in developing countries 123
- Figures 40
- Figure 1.1 Active antenna systems and mMIMO 40
- Figure 1.2 GSM Association forecasts for global backhaul connections, 2025 and 2027 43
- Figure 1.3 Disaggregated fronthaul, midhaul, and backhaul links 44
- Figure 2.1 Industry sales enabled by 5G: Forecasts for 2035 61
- Figure 3.1 Summary of the 5G threat surface 84
- Figure 3.2 Mobile network electricity consumption to 2030 92
- Figure 3.3 Radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum 95
- Figure 4.1 Capital spending for 5G, 2020–25 (US$, billions) 106
- Photo 39
- Photo 1.1 5G base station with a 64T64R mMIMO radio antenna array 39
- Tables 33
- Table 1.1 Key target capabilities of 4G and 5G 33
- Table 1.2 Proposed 5G usage scenarios and use case examples 34
- Table 1.3 Frequency bands internationally designated for IMT identification 36
- Table 1.4 Summary of performance variables for 5G spectrum 38
- Table 1.5 Current alternatives for backhaul media 43
- Table 2.1 Potential digital transformation in selected vertical sectors 61
- Table 2.2 Three examples of the beneficial use of 5G in the power industry 66
- Table 2.3 5G and other technologies in the agriculture sector 70
- Table 2.4 Status of 5G-enabled agriculture as of 2020 71
- Table 3.1 5G threat surface, by network segment 85
- Table 3.2 Summary of potential risks for various 5G user groups 87
- Table 3.3 Recommendations for countries without a current 5G implementation process 89
- Table 3.4 Recommendations for countries planning 5G implementations 89
- Table 3.5 Recommendations for countries in the process of implementing 5G 90
- Table 4.1 Authorization regimes for private 5G networks 110
- Table A.1 Overview of selected organizations and standards 137
- Table B.1 Additional examples of national 5G strategy documents in developing countries 143