The European Union and China have signed an agreement to work together to development 5G internet. The high speed internet is expected to be developed by the end of the year but probably won’t be available to customers until 2020.
It has not yet been said how much faster 5G will be than its predecessor 4G. Early tests have shown a speed of around 1GB per second. Some estimate the 5G network could be up to 1,000 times faster than 4G.
Much of the research is being done in China as a proportion of it is to be publicly funded. The European Commission has pledged to invest €700m in the development of 5G by 2020 to ensure Europe does not fall behind other global competitors.
Discussing the deal, European Commissioner Günther Oettinger said: “5G will be the backbone of our digital economies and societies worldwide. This is why we strongly support and seek a global consensus and cooperation on 5G. With today’s signature with China, the EU has now teamed up with the most important Asian partners in a global race to make 5G a reality by 2020. It’s a crucial step in making 5G a success.”