LIVE FROM GSMA MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS SHANGHAI: Overcoming specific industry silos was highlighted as an obstacle on the road to 5G by Ken Hu, Huawei’s deputy chairman and rotating CEO, speaking during this morning’s keynote session.

Huawei’s Hu said each industry has a different need, and added: “We have seen innovation but we need more collaboration. We have not gone far enough in the conversation with other industries.”  As well as increased collaboration, he recommended joint innovation as a way to overcome the problem.

The Huawei chief also said the GSMA should get involved by establishing platforms for cross-industry collaboration. Another suggestion from Hu was creating industry-specific 5G demo networks. And he wants to see more representatives from other industries at mobile events.

The silo issue is one of three areas relating to 5G where the industry needs to work harder during 2015, said Huawei’s Hu. He also called on governments and regulators to free up a hefty wad of spectrum.

He said operators each needed 100 MHz of sub-6 GHz frequencies for 5G. Countries need 300-500MHz in total (presumably assuming three to five operators per country). “That’s a prerequisite for 5G infrastructure,” he said. The key stakeholders need to identity this slab of 500MHz spectrum at the forthcoming WRC-15 event.

Finally, Hu called on the industry to accelerate technical innovation. “We need a really disruptive user experience, which is the best way to convince users.” Examples he gave included virtual reality and immersive technology which, he predicted, will become key applications for 5G, for instance in education and healthcare.