Nokia chief backs 5G Internet as super-fast ‘leap forward’

Super-fast 5G internet will be the key to unlocking the “fourth industrial revolution” involving artificial intelligence and smart cities, Nokia’s chief executive said today at the Mobile World Congress show.

Many in the mobile industry are sceptical about the need for 5G, arguing 4G needs to become more widely accessible first.

But Rajeev Suri, who unveiled the reboot of Nokia’s 3310 phone on Sunday, said super-fast mobile networks will be required as everything becomes connected to the internet.

He said we are standing “on the threshold of one of history’s great leaps forward to usher in a new era”.

Suri said: “I know that more than a few of you may wonder why we need 5G, wonder what is so different about it, wonder whether it will be worth the billions planned to be spent on it.

“My simple answer is yes. It is both worth it and it is also necessary.”

Fresh from the Oscars fiasco, PwC’s global chairman, Bob Moritz, argued that if so-called “smart cities”, where technology is used to improve urban life, are to take off, people need to be educated about the technology.

“If you want smart cities, then you need smarter people,” Moritz said.

He did not mention PwC’s role in the film awards mix-up.