Warsaw, Poland – When it comes to recent technological innovations, one of the most exciting has to be 5G, the next level in mobile connections, so it’s understandable that there’s been a massive buzz around it. However, uncertainty remains surrounding the 5G technology and how ready Central and Eastern Europe will be when it takes the plunge into faster network speeds. We investigate the burning questions surrounding the eventual widespread availability of 5G and its resulting impact on industries throughout Central and Eastern Europe.
What is the 5G Readiness Index?
There’s certainly been some noise coming out of Central and Eastern Europe when it comes to how ready the region is for 5G, and luckily data sets such as the 5G Readiness Index allow for an understanding of where they currently stand. The 5G Readiness Index, as the name suggests, acts as a handy indicator of how ready a nation is for the next generation of mobile connection.
The index breaks down this concept of ‘readiness’ into several categories, ranging from the quality of the infrastructure and technology for 5G to the quality of the “human capital” of a nation – referring to how good the education system is, and how prepared the population is in dealing with and adapting to new technologies. The linked report details how overall nations in Central and Eastern Europe have lagged behind their Western counterparts, despite a major outlier in Estonia, widely known for its digital prowess, ranked 12th place on the list.
Among Visegrad countries, the Czech Republic would come first at the 21st position in Europe, while Poland (25th), Slovakia (26th) and Hungary (27th) lag slightly behind.
What does Central and Eastern Europe need to do to catch up?
The report also describes how, on average, Central and Eastern European nations would rank 32nd overall and discusses how to catch up with Western European countries.
As the report states, “such a divide would be the outcome of a multitude of societal, economic and political reasons”. In essence, this clearly suggests that Central and Eastern European states need to push through structural and long-term reforms, including increasing the standard of education, investing in 5G-ready infrastructure, and moving regulation and policy-making into a more modern, forward-thinking direction.
What industries could 5G benefit?
This can then lead to having a significant positive effect on associated online-based industries such as leisure and entertainment. Online shopping, for instance, which had been booming in Visegrad countries even before the COVID-19 pandemic, will greatly benefit from the adoption of 5G as it will lead to a quicker, more convenient, and more immersive shopping experience for consumers, even when they’re on the go. When it comes to Central Europe, nations such as Poland are looking to benefit thanks to the gains offered to online shopping via a 5G connection.
The online casino industry, which, even before the days of 5G has experienced a large growth, is also poised to make substantial gains from the technology. The introduction of 5G would improve the smooth running of rapid gameplay-dependent industries such as online casino and make way for new innovations in the sector. It should also allow for consumers to play with more types of games with the same bonuses and offers available, which would certainly broaden the whole online gambling experience.
5G will also enable machine-to-machine communications on a large scale, which is predicted to increase automated processes and hopefully reduce human error. In Central Europe specifically, Europe’s automotive powerhouse, major car manufacturers such as Volkswagen in Poland and Jaguar Land Rover in Slovakia will be able to make use of the machine-to-machine processes when it comes to multiple robots building their cars simultaneously, as well as delivering messages to operators if anything goes awry.
Kafkadesk 
Warsaw, Poland – When it comes to recent technological innovations, one of the most exciting has to be 5G, the next level in mobile connections, so it’s understandable that there’s been a massive buzz around it. However, uncertainty remains surrounding the 5G technology and how ready Central and Eastern Europe will be when it takes the plunge into faster network speeds. We investigate the burning questions surrounding the eventual widespread availability of 5G and its resulting impact on industries throughout Central and Eastern Europe.
What is the 5G Readiness Index?
There’s certainly been some noise coming out of Central and Eastern Europe when it comes to how ready the region is for 5G, and luckily data sets such as the 5G Readiness Index allow for an understanding of where they currently stand. The 5G Readiness Index, as the name suggests, acts as a handy indicator of how ready a nation is for the next generation of mobile connection.
The index breaks down this concept of ‘readiness’ into several categories, ranging from the quality of the infrastructure and technology for 5G to the quality of the “human capital” of a nation – referring to how good the education system is, and how prepared the population is in dealing with and adapting to new technologies. The linked report details how overall nations in Central and Eastern Europe have lagged behind their Western counterparts, despite a major outlier in Estonia, widely known for its digital prowess, ranked 12th place on the list.
Among Visegrad countries, the Czech Republic would come first at the 21st position in Europe, while Poland (25th), Slovakia (26th) and Hungary (27th) lag slightly behind.
What does Central and Eastern Europe need to do to catch up?
The report also describes how, on average, Central and Eastern European nations would rank 32nd overall and discusses how to catch up with Western European countries.
As the report states, “such a divide would be the outcome of a multitude of societal, economic and political reasons”. In essence, this clearly suggests that Central and Eastern European states need to push through structural and long-term reforms, including increasing the standard of education, investing in 5G-ready infrastructure, and moving regulation and policy-making into a more modern, forward-thinking direction.
What industries could 5G benefit?
This can then lead to having a significant positive effect on associated online-based industries such as leisure and entertainment. Online shopping, for instance, which had been booming in Visegrad countries even before the COVID-19 pandemic, will greatly benefit from the adoption of 5G as it will lead to a quicker, more convenient, and more immersive shopping experience for consumers, even when they’re on the go. When it comes to Central Europe, nations such as Poland are looking to benefit thanks to the gains offered to online shopping via a 5G connection.
The online casino industry, which, even before the days of 5G has experienced a large growth, is also poised to make substantial gains from the technology. The introduction of 5G would improve the smooth running of rapid gameplay-dependent industries such as online casino and make way for new innovations in the sector. It should also allow for consumers to play with more types of games with the same bonuses and offers available, which would certainly broaden the whole online gambling experience.
5G will also enable machine-to-machine communications on a large scale, which is predicted to increase automated processes and hopefully reduce human error. In Central Europe specifically, Europe’s automotive powerhouse, major car manufacturers such as Volkswagen in Poland and Jaguar Land Rover in Slovakia will be able to make use of the machine-to-machine processes when it comes to multiple robots building their cars simultaneously, as well as delivering messages to operators if anything goes awry.