ISLANDERS could have access to better connection and higher download speeds on their mobile phones within a year, after JT announced an £80 million investment in the Island’s first 5G network.
The States-owned business, which also operates in Guernsey, said the deal with Swedish tech giant Ericsson was the biggest telecoms investment ever made in the Channel Islands – bigger than the roll-out of its fibre network in 2018, which linked every property in Jersey directly to super-fast internet access.
5G – the latest iteration of wireless cellular technology which greatly increases the speed and responsiveness of wireless devices – is set to replace JT’s current 4G network, which uses equipment made by Chinese firm ZTE, and promises to be up to 100 times faster. The use of Chinese 5G technology has been reviewed in several western countries due to concerns over security and surveillance.
JT group chief executive officer Daragh McDermott said that – alongside the existing infrastructure reaching the end of its life – the decision had been made for geopolitical reasons, together with a desire to build a new relationship with a technology partner, ‘to get best value from our investment’.
He added that 5G had been proved to be safe; it had been successfully rolled out around the world and JT operated strictly within the terms of its licence awarded by the regulator.
On the issue of prices, JT said it was ‘constantly working with our customers to ensure that they have the best services at the best possible prices’.
Yesterday evening, the company signed a deal with the UK and Ireland division of Ericsson, whose equipment already powers 150 5G networks across 60 countries.
JT’s investment is being funded by the sale of its ‘Internet of Things’ business for £200m in 2021, which also provided its shareholder, the government, with a £40m windfall.
Half of that £40m is now funding the government’s ‘Impact Jersey’ initiative, which is offering grants to Jersey-based technology firms and individuals to develop tech solutions ‘to support economic, environmental and social priorities’.
Mr McDermott said: ‘This agreement with Ericsson is an incredibly exciting opportunity, not just for JT but for the Channel Islands as a whole. We made a major investment in our fibre network and now we are doing the same with mobile.’
He added that JT wanted to work closely with government departments and arms-length organisations to help them include what 5G could deliver into their strategies.
Katherine Ainley, chief executive of Ericsson UK and Ireland, said: ‘When it comes to 5G, everyone thinks of speed, and it is up to 100 times faster than 4G. But it isn’t just the speed, it also has much lower latency, which is the lag you sometimes get, for instance, on a video call over a mobile. With 5G, that delay is much, much less.
‘That is certainly important to domestic customers, but it is really important for businesses.’
With the Jersey competition regulator already recommending that JT and Sure are awarded 5G radio spectrum, the Island is waiting for final allocation from UK regulator Ofcom. Guernsey, meanwhile, is yet to start its 5G licensing process.
