How to approach 5G policies Fig. 16 | How diluting TMT oligopolies may bring the DIGITECCS opportunity and progress INTERNET TECH OLIGOPOLY SELECTIVE OPEN PLATFORM ACCESS TELECOM OLIGOPOLY THE DIGITECCS OPPORTUNITY EQUIPMENT VENDOR OLIGOPOLY LEGACY ECONOMY SELECTIVE OPEN NETWORK ACCESS OPEN NETWORK TECH (Open RAN) Source: Digiteccs Associates the market power of the internet big tech industries and its distortive implications are increasingly obvious the telecom equipment vendor market is also quite concentrated globally; this problem is further amplified in countries, which are excluding vendors on security grounds the telecom industry is starting to respond to the network equipment vendor market concentration through its Open RAN initiative 5G makes duplication of some telecom infrastructures impractical, it makes some nationwide wireless open access more desirable (e.g. in IoT) and it also boosts relevance of private local networks telecom infrastructure is also becoming strategically more important for nations We recommend policymakers to consider the following approaches to the opening of tech standards, platforms and networks: 1. 2. 3. 4. to encourage opening of tech standards, platforms and networks, especially where proprietary solutions lead to market inefficiencies that adversely affect security and functioning of economies and societies; and when the positive impact of such opening on innovation and the economy outweighs potential adverse impact of scaling down innovative proprietary solutions any regulatory interference in the area of opening should be ideally based on long-term policy visions private entities should ideally not be forced into opening their assets, but the already established ones may be encouraged to act in such way voluntarily; policies may also encourage creation of new entities established on the open principles to address issues surrounding global companies as rigorously as the local ones; if certain regulatory tools are practically not available or not enforceable in dealing with global companies, alternative approaches may need to be considered, including giving compliant local companies certain regulatory benefits “ Policymakers should consider encouraging open tech standards, platforms and networks, especially when shortcomings of the proprietary model become a burden.” 5G as an opportunity to reform 31