We discussed in one of our previous articles how governments across the globe are trying to take advantage of the power of digital and align their economies based on the benefits provided by digital infrastructure and 5G deployments. In one such development, The Netherlands Government approved the strategy for its Digital Economy on Friday.
The five ambitions outlined for the Netherlands' Digital economy are:
- Accelerating digitization by SMEs
- Stimulating digital innovation and skills
- Creating the right preconditions for well-functioning online markets
- Maintaining and strengthening the digital infrastructure in the Netherlands and
- Improving cyber security
Digitization of SMEs
The Dutch Government wants every consumer and every company to have access to the Internet with a speed of at least 1 Gigabit per second, and 95 per cent of SMEs are committed to digitization by 2030. The government is also investing (30 million euros) in five Dutch European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH) in which entrepreneurs, researchers and governments work together regionally to accelerate digitization.
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5G and 6G Technologies
There is a shortage of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and technically skilled people. So the government will invest more to innovate in areas like quantum, artificial intelligence and applications that will use 5G and 6G Technologies.
Digital Infrastructure:
The Dutch government wants to expand digital infrastructure further, and people should have access to gigabit internet connections by 2030.
If the target of gigabit speeds is not achieved by market dynamics, the government will intervene with two possibilities: State Aid or forcing the service providers to provide the services.
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5G Coverage and Spectrum Auction:
The cabinet also wants to achieve full coverage of 5G in populated areas of the Netherlands. For this, the 5G Spectrum auction will take place in 2023.
Already 91 per cent of connections in the Netherlands have fast broadband access (greater than or equal to 1 Gbps) via cable or fiber, but the cabinet wants everyone to be able to use it, including the 19,000 addresses in the rural areas.
The use of advanced digital technologies, such as cloud, artificial intelligence and big data, must also be increased within SMEs to at least 75 per cent by 2030.
With these measures, the Netherlands Government wants a safe digital economy, serving public interests and economic resilience.
