5G Readiness Index: Assessing World’s Readiness To Deploy And Adopt 5G Technology

Globally, South Korea is far ahead of all other countries in the development of 5G.  This conclusion is not at all surprising. South Korea in the first quarter of 2020 made significant progress concerning the rate of take-up among the population of the country.

Switzerland took second place on the list-making more progress with the rate of coverage of 5G in the country. To identify the world’s readiness to deploy and adopt 5G technology, CEOWORLD magazine reviewed 5G Market Progress Assessment (end-2019) report by OMDIA, Kuwait, the United States, Qatar and China ranked third, fourth, fifth, and sixth respectively, among the countries that have made the most progress in 5G to date. Kuwait, United States, and Qatar made the most progress in the field of coverage in the first quarter of 2020, while China did the best concerning the rate of take-up among the population of the country. Switzerland is the leader at 5G among European countries.

The United Kingdom comes in 7^th place globally, making great progress in the field of coverage of 5G at the first quarter of 2020. Closely follows Finland at the 8^th place of the list. Finland is another country that expanded to a great extent the coverage of 5G lately. Japan and Germany come at the 9^th and 10^th place on the list. Japan gained 9^th place due to progress in the area of ecosystem technology. Also, Germany gained a 10^th place for the same reason.

The other countries with the best performance in this area are Italy (11th in the world), Spain (12^th), Australia (13^th ), South Africa (14^th ), Canada (15^th ), New Zealand (16^th ), Hong Kong (17^th ), France (18^th), Singapore (19^th ), India (20^th ), Brazil (21st) and Indonesia (22nd).

As far as Europe is concerned except for Switzerland that holds the first place in Europe, there are some more European countries with significant results. At the European level, the second place is occupied so far by the United Kingdom, which is in 7^th place in the world. Finland also has an excellent performance, having the eighth position globally in the development of 5G, while it is in the 3rd place in Europe. Germany, ranked 10th globally and 4^th in Europe in terms of 5G growth, has also made significant progress in 5G.

The next place in the European ranking with the most advanced countries in 5G is held by Italy (5^th  in Europe and 11th in the world). Italy is followed – always based on the data for the 1st quarter of 2020- by Spain in the 6^th place, which is at the 12th place of the international ranking. Finally, France’s performance in 5G secures it at 7^th place on the European list and the 18th in the world.

The data reflects the progress of 5G technology around the world. The study uses algorithms to rank countries globally in a number of 5G-related areas: spectrum allocation, launches, coverage, take-up, and overall ecosystem technology.

Despite the pandemic of Covid-19, the mobility around the development of 5G remains strong worldwide. On the one hand, the Regulatory Authorities promote the tenders for the assignment of the spectrum and on the other hand, the providers are preparing new launches or extending the already existing network coverage.