“Digital will increasingly determine competitiveness of not only companies but nations and continents,” said Vodafone CEO Nick Read in his keynote address on Monday, kicking off the Mobile World Conference 2022 in Barcelona, Spain.
Appraising 5G rollout globally, Read emphasised that 5G will underpin the next wave of digital innovation and industrial revolution for every country and society.
“Every country and region will try to maximise their chance to capture this opportunity for jobs and growth.” said Read in his address.
So far, according to Read, South Korea, China and the United States lead the global stage in offering 5G services, offering 90 per cent, 60 per cent and 45 per cent of their population respectively with 5G network coverage.
Addressing Vodafone’s two key markets — Europe and Africa — Read said, “Africa needs digital to accelerate development and diversify its economies. Europe needs digital to remain globally competitive and maintain its leadership role in key sectors such as automotive, aerospace defence and agriculture.”
As per current trends, it will take till the end of this decade for Europe to achieve the 5G experience that China will provide its users by the end of this year, according to Read.
India entity in trouble
India remained absent in Read’s keynote address, as Vodafone Idea struggles to remain competitive with the likes of Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel. With 5G spectrum auctions likely to happen in June-July 2022, Voda Idea is struggling to raise funds to buy the needed 5G spectrum in the region.
Last week, Vodafone Group sold 4.7 per cent of its stake in Indus Towers to Bharti Airtel. The two companies signed an agreement on the condition that Vodafone will use the proceeds to invest in Vodafone Idea (Vi) and the latter will clear its pending dues with Indus Towers.