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So here ’ s the thing , Europe ’ s taken a huge economic hit because of the COVID-19 pandemic . Sounds nasty . It is . The EU ’ s Digital Commissioner , Margrethe Vestager , has said that 5G is the particular metaphorical donkey on which Europe will pin its hopes for a post-COVID economic recovery . She said that ? Not in those exact words . Well that sounds hopeful . Doesn ’ t Europe already have 5G ? Yes , but it isn ’ t anywhere near fast enough , resilient enough , or providing the kind of coverage that ’ s needed to actually make an impact . Oh dear . So now what ? Vestager estimates that Europe needs to invest a further $ 355bn into telecom infrastructure by 2025 , and a radical rethinking of how spectrum is being auctioned off to carriers , as well as how those carriers are then allowed to use , share and monetise those networks , if the 5G rollout is going to deliver the kind of results that they need .

� XIAOMI After years spent in Huawei ’ s shadow , Xiaomi is China ’ s new smartphone king . The company posted stellar 2020 results , with sales rising by 17.5 %.

� CYBERCRIME It ’ s been a staple headline during the pandemic , but the global spike in cyber attacks shows no sign of slowing down , so we ’ re going to keep calling attention to it .

� IOT REVENUES Despite the number of connections growing at a “ healthy rate ” of 20 %, IoT manufacturers and solutions providers didn ’ t see that translate into the kind of astronomic revenue growth they might have hoped for over the past year .

� 5G PHONE PRICES The average price of a 5G smartphone continues to drop as new models enter the market . In the US , the average 5G handset cost over $ 1,000 in Q2 of 2019 , and now hovers somewhere around the $ 600 mark .

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