Why the EU should support WI-FI

A European digital decade focused on people and on the competitiveness of businesses needs high quality and universal access. The focus on WI-FI connectivity is a key part of the necessary response, writes MEP Carlos Zorrinho. 

Carlos Zorrinho is a Socialist and Democrat (S&D) group member of the European Parliament’s ITRE Committee. In the previous legislature, he was the rapporteur on the regulation “Promotion of internet connectivity in local communities”, which established the WIFI4EU initiative.

During the COVID lockdowns, we all learned about the importance of the internet. We relied on it to stay in touch with our friends and families, and to work while our workplaces were closed. Businesses relied on it to stay afloat, school children and students relied on it to keep up their studies while schools and universities were shut.

The COVID experience demonstrated that bad internet connections are no longer just a lifestyle problem but make all aspects of life more challenging. This is not a blip, it is a glimpse of the digitally connected world of tomorrow. Those who don’t have access to high-speed internet will be left behind.

The connectivity that sustained us through the lockdowns was primarily provided by Wi-Fi networks. Handling more than 80% of internet traffic, Wi-Fi forms the base of digital connectivity that ensures high-speed internet access to every home, workplace and school in Europe.

Without this connectivity, the entirety of the internet, and the opportunities it offers, are out of reach. This is particularly true in rural areas, which already sit on the wrong side of the economic and digital divide. Poor rural connectivity leads to higher poverty rates, fewer opportunities, and higher youth migration than in urban areas.

The European Union already recognises the role of Wi-Fi to underpin internet connectivity and reduce the digital divide, with the Wi-Fi4EU program providing public Wi-Fi access to towns and cities across the Union. This is because Wi-Fi services can be provided at a low cost, are easy to deploy, and offer high levels of performance. 

The EU has made fast Internet access a priority. By 2030, all citizens and businesses should have access to fibre networks providing an Internet speed of 1 Gigabit per second. To achieve this goal, it is crucial to recognise that superfast, reliable Wi-Fi is essential for citizens and businesses to benefit from the next generation of services. 

Over the next ten years, the need for good Wi-Fi connectivity will grow rapidly. Without fast, reliable Wi-Fi and Very High-Capacity Networks, the next generations of digital services such as Augmented, Virtual and Extended Reality (AR/VR/XR) will struggle to reach market, hampering Europe’s competitiveness in the process.

Equally, Europe will not be able to exploit the full benefits of the Internet of Things or of eHealth. 

Wi-Fi must be part of the connectivity mix of the future. A narrow focus on access technologies (e.g. 5G/6G, fibre, satellite) alone will not be able to provide the high speed, high quality, secure and reliable local internet connectivity needed to ensure that every home, business and school in Europe has access to the digital economy of the future. 

The digital transformation of the entire European society (including SMEs, start-ups and other industries) is dependent on the mix of all technologies. Wi-Fi uses its spectrum much more efficiently than mobile networks do, transferring up to 32 times as much data and consuming considerably less energy, particularly in combination with fibre.

Policymakers have a responsibility to make sure that Europe adopts a technology-neutral approach to the infrastructure that needs to be put in place to hit the Gigabit society goal by 2030.

Other parts of the world, including the US, Canada, Brazil, and South Korea, have already taken the steps needed to smooth the path for local wireless gigabit connectivity.

These countries have authorised Wi-Fi operation in the #6GHz licence-exempt spectrum, and so should do the European Union in the upcoming World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-23). 

The EU needs to prepare the ground for adequate Wi-Fi connectivity as soon as possible.  If Europe fails to do so, it risks its citizens and businesses missing out on the next wave of technological innovation. Acting now will help ensure that all Europeans can access the same social and economic benefits as their counterparts in the rest of the world.