5G could boost Yorkshire economy by £1bn a year

Research from Barclays Corporate Banking shows that an accelerated adoption of 5G could supercharge a £15.7bn increase nationwide in business revenue by 2025. Even under a slower-than-anticipated rollout and limited use, Barclays still predict it could deliver around £8.3bn of added revenue to the UK, £504m of which would be felt in Yorkshire.

The report 5G: A Transformative Technology revealed that a majority of businesses are already benefitting from technology like 4G and ultrafast broadband. This is because it allows companies to operate across disparate locations, communicate with customers and potential customers and connect multiple machines and devices.

It adds that 5G can further enhance these operations through benefits including peak data rates 20 times faster than 4G and simultaneous connections for one million devices per square kilometre. The extreme speed paves the way for innovations in artificial intelligence, robotics and large-scale Internet of Things (IoT) usage. For businesses, this means more extensive machine-to-machine communications, using self-driving vehicles and better overall infrastructure – amongst other new applications.

Pilot schemes are currently under way in London, the Midlands, Edinburgh and Belfast. The service could be launched in Leeds and Sheffield by as early as this summer. Sean Duffy, Head of Technology, Media and Telecoms at Barclays, said: “The rollout of 5G offers a huge opportunity for the UK. We’re seeing massive potential for business growth, which ultimately delivers a positive knock-on effect for the whole economy.

“While the Government and network providers are already working hard to introduce 5G in the UK, we found that businesses do not yet have enough clarity about how they will benefit in the long-run.”