Europe Falls Further Behind US and Asia in 5G Rollout

新研究显示欧洲5G铺设落后于美国和亚洲

Europe has rapidly fallen behind the US and Asia in the race to build 5G networks despite increased investment by the region’s largest players.

欧洲在建设5G网络的竞赛中迅速落在了美国和亚洲后面，尽管欧洲各大运营商已经在增加投资。

The number of Europeans able to connect to a 5G network was 24 percent at the end of September compared to 13 per cent at the end of 2019, according to new research.

新研究表明，去年9月底，能够连接5G网络的欧洲人比例为24%，相比之下2019年底的数据是13%。

However, that pales in comparison with the 76 per cent of Americans able to connect to 5G and even higher rates in some parts of Asia, such as South Korea where it is 93 per cent, according to a report by telecoms trade body ETNO and research company Analysys Mason.

然而，根据电信行业组织“欧洲电信网络运营商协会”（ETNO）和研究公司Analysys Mason的一份报告，欧洲远比不上美国和亚洲一些地区——可以连接5G的美国人比例为76%，亚洲一些地区的比例甚至更高，例如韩国达到93%。

Europe’s poor performance will add to concerns about the economic impact of the slow pace of network upgrades compared to other regions. 5G networks are deemed to be critical national infrastructure by most governments and key in modernising factory floors, transport systems and healthcare.

欧洲的落后表现让人更加担忧，欧洲的网络升级速度比其他地区缓慢，这将对经济造成影响。5G网络被大多数政府视为至关重要的国家基础设施，对工厂车间、交通运输网络和医疗等领域的现代化十分关键。

The European Commission has said repeatedly over the past decade that the continent will play a leading role in the 5G era, going as far as to launch multiple ‘action plans’ aimed at stimulating investment, but progress has stalled.

欧盟委员会（European Commission）在过去十年内反复表示，欧洲将在5G时代担任领军角色，还启动多个旨在刺激投资的“行动计划”，但进展不顺。

Groups including Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, BT, Telefónica and Telecom Italia have all launched 5G and upgraded more fixed networks to fibreoptic cables to support the rollout and the ETNO report shows that the pace of investment by the sector is rising, with almost €52bn spent in 2019 compared to €48.6bn the previous year.

德国电信（Deutsche Telekom）、沃达丰（Vodafone）、英国电信（BT）、西班牙电信（Telefónica）和意大利电信（Telecom Italia）等企业都已开通5G服务，并将更多固定网络升级为光纤电缆，以支持5G网络的铺设。欧洲电信网络运营商协会的报告显示，该行业正在加快投资步伐，2019年投资接近520亿欧元，相比之下2018年投资额为486亿欧元。

However, the average investment per capita in new networks remains lower than in other regions at €94.8 compared to €147.9 in the US and €233 in Japan.

然而，欧洲在新网络上的人均投资仍低于其他地区，为94.8欧元，而美国和日本则分别为147.9欧元和233欧元。

The industry has long argued that heavy-handed and inconsistent regulations have stymied progress across the fragmented European market, causing lower returns on investment and putting a brake on investing the billions of euros needed to upgrade networks to 5G.

该行业长期以来一直认为，严苛且不一致的监管规定阻碍了碎片化的欧洲市场取得进展，导致投资回报率较低，抑制了将网络升级到5G所需的巨额投资。

“European (telecoms companies) invest more than in the past, but this does not suffice to bridge the gap. We need strong policy action for massive network rollout and uptake,” said Lise Fuhr, director-general of ETNO.

欧洲电信网络运营商协会总干事利塞·富尔（Lise Fuhr）说：“欧洲（电信公司）比过去投资更多，但这不足以弥补差距。我们需要强有力的政策行动来促进大规模网络铺设和应用。”

European companies are spending a larger share of their revenue on network upgrades than in other regions. However, monthly average mobile revenue per user in the region was less than €15 compared to €23.7 in the South Korea and €28.1 in Japan and €36.9 in the US, according to the report, which has a detrimental effect on investment the sector says.

欧洲公司目前用在网络升级上的支出与收入之比高于其他地区。然而，该报告显示，按月度计算，欧洲的移动“每用户平均收入”（ARPU）不到15欧元，而韩国为23.7欧元，日本为28.1欧元，美国为36.9欧元。该行业表示，这对投资产生了不利影响。

英文、中文版本下载：http://www.yingyushijie.com/shop/source/detail/id/2600.html