February 03, 2022
5G spectrum deal time for new thinking
The chief executive of the Interim Māori Spectrum Entity says Māori spectrum claimants are now able to turn their thoughts to how Māori can make effective use of 5G.
The entity is part of an agreement signed in Parliament yesterday giving Māori access to future spectrum allocations.
Antony Royal says 5G is a way to describe a range of technologies that allow a greater range of services to fit within existing spectrum bands.
While telecommunications carriers are touring features such as higher download speeds on mobile networks, there may be other new applications that support Māori aspirations and Māori businesses.
“How do we use to 5G to improve farming or our environment and climate change? How do we actually get better at monitoring what’s happening in our environment and then making better decisions and how we can improve the quality of water and the quality of our air. All those sorts of things that are available to us in the future”, he says.
The agreement includes allocating 20 per cent of the 5G spectrum to Māori, along with $32 million over five years to establish the Māori Spectrum Entity and $25 million in seed capital for it to invest in businesses.