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The operator says incorporating 5G tech could generate huge cost and energy savings for the public sector
According to a new ‘Connected Spaces’ report, written by WPI Strategy on behalf of Vodafone UK, installing 5G-enabled technology like digital twins, IoT, and smart sensors to public buildings could save the UK £580 million.
The report models the current energy spend of various public sector buildings and estimates how much money could be saved via the integration of new technology. These technologies, says the report, provide a wealth of additional information about the buildings’ energy consumption, helping to drive efficiencies and limit energy use.
In total, the report found that digital twins, IoT, and smart sensors could generate an average 17% reduction in public building energy consumption, saving the average 40,000-person town up to £350,000 a year. Extrapolating this data across the UK leads us to the figure of £580 million per year.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the biggest savings could be made my incorporating these technologies in council/civil service buildings and hospitals, which could save on average £85,000 and £153,612, respectively.
Of course, installing these new technologies in the buildings in question would not be cheap, but the study estimates that their deployment would pay for themselves in 2–3 years.
Beyond pure cost savings, the new technology would also save roughly 1.43 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, helping the UK meet it sustainability goals.
Vodafone’s argument is that all of these new technologies will need standalone 5G (SA 5G) to function effectively.
“We believe that a best-in-class 5G network would provide a much-needed economic boost to the public purse, saving £580 million of taxpayer money, while also helping to decarbonise the public estate,” said Andrea Dona, Chief Network Officer of Vodafone UK.
“Public buildings are critical to communities, and we want to propel them into the future – which is why, as part of our proposed combination with Three UK, we have committed to rolling out 5G Standalone to every school and hospital across the nation by 2030.”
That these technologies can only be delivered with SA 5G is not strictly true – 4G and other alternative wireless technologies would likely be suitable for at least some of these deployments. Nonetheless, SA 5G would undoubtedly provide the best performance, delivering faster speeds and far greater capacities, able to handle thousands of devices and sensors operating simultaneously.
As has become tradition for Vodafone publications over the past year, the company took this announcement as an opportunity to promote the company’s planned merger with Three UK, with the report concluding that the tie-up would “create necessary market conditions to secure a nationwide standalone 5G network”.
It also reiterated that the combined company would invest £11 billion into its network over the next decade, if the merger is allowed to proceed.
“The combined network will reach more than 99% population coverage with 5G standalone by 2034, and over 95% population coverage by 2030, as well as ensuring coverage in every school and hospital across the country helping to deliver on Labour’s manifesto commitment to reach national 5G coverage by 2030,” reads the report. “The combined business will invest over £6 billion in the first five years, and more than £11 billion for the overall ten-year plan, to create the UK’s biggest 5G network, bringing significant emissions and productivity savings to businesses and buildings across the country; safeguarding the lifeblood of communities for future generations.”
The merger is currently under investigation by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which is exploring if the deal will result in a significant loss of competition and drive-up prices for consumers.
It is surely no coincidence that the timing of this study’s publication coincides with an article in The Guardian this week, in which Vodafone CEO Margherita Della Valle argues that the new Labour government must approve the company’s merger with Three for the good of the nation.
The CMA is set to announce its decision on October 12.
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