5G important for accelerating digitization

Today, Telecom Insights 2020 focused on the importance of 5G for our society. This year, the annual Telecompaper was organized online. During the event kick-off, Chief Business Market and Board of Management member Marieke Snoep spoke on behalf of KPN about the acceleration of the digital transformation and the added value of 5G in this regard.

Marieke Snoep noted in her account that, “never before has the importance of digitalization been so visible, tangible and clear as this year.” Businesses in the Netherlands had to adapt rapidly to the new and acute situation that arose due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Thanks to reliable infrastructure and digital solutions such as video calling and the cloud, it was possible to keep society and the economy largely afloat during the corona crisis.

The need for ongoing digital acceleration
In 2020, an unprecedented acceleration in digitalization occurred in all companies in the Netherlands. “We have brought the future forward by achieving as much for society and our business customers in two months as we did in the past two years", Snoep continues. "Businesses in the Netherlands have become aware of the opportunities and the importance of digitalization. We must also successfully implement the digitalization process we underwent this year in the long term, in order to be able to cope with crises in the future. We need to maintain the digital acceleration that is currently going on in the Netherlands. This offers many opportunities for our economy, sustainability, education and healthcare.”

Three distinctive 5G services from the start
5G will play a key role in the next digitalization step. In fact, KPN has been testing the possibilities of the new mobile technology for some time in Field Labs. Now that the first frequencies are actually available, together with our customers and partners, we can look for new applications on a larger scale. Initially, applications in sectors that benefit society as a whole, such as mobility, logistics, security, manufacturing and healthcare. KPN is the first in the Netherlands to develop three distinctive 5G services: 1. Priority for specific applications, 2. Customized mobile coverage (indoor and outdoor) and 3. Guaranteed bandwidth.

Healthcare first, technology second
During Telecom Insights, EVP 5G Business Market Jacob Groote presented a number of concrete applications of these three services especially for healthcare. Groote: “What I continue to emphasize is ‘healthcare first, technology second’," says Jacob Groote. "It is never about the technology itself. It is about its functionality. 5G will offer us new applications that we do not yet know about. We will soon be launching a sixth and new Field Lab specifically for healthcare, to discover and develop new applications for this sector together with our customers and partners.”

Ready to accelerate together with 5G
Telecom analysts have made it clear that they are very positive about KPN’s 5G offering and the lead that the company is taking. They believe that KPN is following the correct path by focusing on the added value of 5G for Dutch society. “Naturally, this strengthens our conviction that we are working on the right things, but we cannot and do not want to walk that path alone. In collaboration with the network of businesses of the Netherlands, we need to discover how we are going to take the next digitalization step with 5G together. In any case, we are ready to accelerate,” concludes Snoep.