The peak national body representing Australia’s mobile telecommunications industry, The Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA), has welcomed the announcement by the Federal Government of a Parliamentary Inquiry into 5G.

Responding to the announcement that the Committee’s remit will cover the capability, capacity and rollout of 5G as well as the application of 5G, including use cases for enterprise and government, AMTA CEO Chris Althaus said the Association wished to contribute to a thorough examination of the implications of 5G technology from all perspectives.

“As the 5G evolution continues, it is critical that Government and society alike understand the magnitude of the 5G opportunity, and its relevance and benefit to all sectors of our economy and society,” he said.

“The mobile industry currently contributes nearly A$23 billion of Australia’s GDP, and the productivity benefits enabled by mobile applications and services are forecast to boost the economy by A$65 billion in 2023; equivalent to 3.1% GDP.”

While Althaus emphasised that businesses and society more broadly could expect to see considerable opportunity and progress through faster download speeds and improved connectivity through advances in The Internet of  Things and other new technologies, he acknowledged that “some questions and concerns exist within the community in relation to 5G and, to that end, we are committed to raising awareness and understanding around credible research to ensure public confidence in the safety of 5G mobile networks.”

“AMTA looks forward to contributing to that discussion further by providing information to, and potentially appearing before, the recently announced Parliamentary Inquiry,” Althaus said.