Vittorio Colao
Vittorio
Colao, former Vodafone Group CEO has warned the industry was too
obsessed with “technology definitions” and should focus on
whatever access technology makes both business sense and meets
demand.
Colao
who spoke at the company’s earnings press conference, said the
service available on enhanced 4G networks was more than enough to
deliver media and other services currently required by the market.
5G, he added, would become more relevant further down the line as
applications requiring lower latency are developed.
“We
are too obsessed with the technology definition,” the executive
said. “It’s not about the race to technology it’s a race on
quality, speed and latency.”
“You
can only use whatever technology makes more sense from a financial
point of view,” he added, describing 5G as a “solid, strong
evolution” in network technology, but noting it would take years to
gain a solid footprint.
The
executive forecast operators would eventually use 5G and 4G alongside
a “small amount” of 2G. He predicted 3G would disappear
completely.
His
comments come a day after operators in the Middle East claimed a
number of commercial 5G firsts and amid increasingly bullish
statements from operators around the world hailing their
readings for launches of the new network technology .
Colao,
who is stepping down in October stated among his main priorities in
his last months in the job would be to meet with authorities in
Brussels and Berlin to help the approvals process for an acquisition
of Liberty Global's assets in Germany and other markets in
continental Europe.
Although
Deutsche Telekom CEO Timotheus Hoettges has poured scorn on
Vodafone’s chances of the deal getting through regulators,
Colao emphasised he was confident the acquisition raised no
regulatory issues.
His
other priorities include overseeing the conclusion of the merger of
its unit in India with Idea Cellular – expected to be completed in
June
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