A study commissioned by Orange found 5G will have significant societal impact in 2030, creating new employment opportunities, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and generating 5G-enabled sales revenue of more than €400 billion across 5 European countries.

In an interview with Mobile World Live (MWL), Michael Trabbia, CTIO of Orange Group (pictured left), explained the research aimed to examine the impact of the next-generation technology in all societal aspects, as the operator group sought to help the development of use cases which will bring improvements across the economy, employment and environment.

The study claimed there will be 1.03 million 5G-enabled jobs in 2030 across five European markets: France, Spain, Poland, Belgium and Romania. The figure amounts to 1.3 per cent of all jobs in those countries.

Orange also forecast €407 billion 5G-enabled sales in 2030 across the studied countries, representing 3.3 per cent of total sales.

The majority of sales enabled by 5G are expected in manufacturing (€101 billion), wholesale and retail trade (€48 billion), and information and communication (€37 billion).

Environmental impact
5G technology is tipped to help 33 million tonnes (2.4 per cent of total) of carbon dioxide emissions be avoided in 2030 across the five countries.

The biggest impact is expected to be noted in transport, energy industries, manufacturing, construction and industrial processes.

“This will be brought mainly by energy consumption optimisation – in sectors such as manufacturing, construction, transport and industrial processes, but also by enabling to avoid some emissions”, Trabbia explained.

The Orange executive highlighted the potential of 5G to also improve existing applications and services aimed at decreasing emissions by reducing physical travel, and pointed to mobile banking, mobile shopping and video calling as examples.