How to approach 5G policies 2. Energy companies sometimes see the process of changing telecom vendors as inconvenient. Some European power companies also quote the sheer complexity and inconvenience of changing telecom vendors, in other words competitive inefficiency of the telecoms market, as a reason for considering their own telecom infrastructure investments. 3. There are synergies in strategically protecting telecom and energy infrastructures together. As telecom networks will be used to run energy utilities, emergency services, but also a variety of commercial services where communications failures have major adverse consequences, policymakers are increasingly realizing a need to strategically protect the telecom infrastructure in the same way as the energy utilities infrastructure. This situation has become even clearer as a result of the covid 19 developments, see chapter 4.4. There are naturally synergies in protecting such infrastructures in a coordinated way. 4. There are also synergies between strategic telecom infrastructure built by the energy utilities and other mission critical government services, such as the PPDR (blue light) emergency services, communications needs of which will also grow substantially. 5. Energy utilities may exploit the currently opportunistic timing of the strategic changes in digital infrastructure to move into the space. The telecom industry faces disruptive pressures on several fronts, including from the new digital infrastructure industries. Energy utilities may use this somewhat unsettled transitionary period to seek opportunity to either disrupt or partner with the established telecom players, or with new telecom infrastructure players. 6. Energy utilities may also explore synergies in digital services. The market for consumer digital services and solutions will grow and become more complex. Following a period when digital consumer service markets were practically dominated by the global big tech companies, it is feasible to assume that new opportunities for local vendors will emerge now, also due to the growing technological and regulatory complexities. For example, energy utilities may see synergic opportunities between smart power management in homes and other smart home services. European energy utilities are gradually waking up to telecom opportunities, although the scale of their telecom investments has so far been relatively modest, mainly concentrated on fibre backbones and Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs). That said plans for targeted wireless investments in the utilities industry are also emerging, including possible intentions of some leading Czech power companies to take part in the 5G spectrum auction. In Europe there is a number of organizations focused on communication needs in utilities such as Alliance 450, RSPG and EUCT. The power utility companies are looking not only at building their own infrastructures to replicate the current telecoms networks, but also other models such as purchasing guaranteed capacity from the established telecom infrastructure vendors. 5G will offer new models in this regard, with possible opportunities in wholesale and network slicing. We recommend policymakers to consider the following: 1. Recognise the growing synergies between public telecoms, PPDR emergency communications, transport, power and other utilities in respect to building, operating and securing strategic national infrastructures. 2. Consider aligning regulations particularly in telecoms and utilities such as power, to soften any potential regulatory barriers to synergic investments and resource sharing between different types of infrastructures. 3. Recognize the potential benefit of the emerging willingness of energy utilities to be strategically active in digital communications infrastructure, and steer such activities to be as synergetic with the existing communications infrastructures as possible. “ European energy utilities are waking up to timely and strategically sensible opportunities in communications infrastructure; countries may benefit from supporting such initiatives especially when they exploit synergies between different types of infrastructure. ” 5G as an opportunity to reform 41