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The mobile industry has said that it could connect up to 2.4bn people to the internet, boost the GDP of countries by three to four per cent through mobile broadband and create 25m jobs, but only if Governments reduce the amount of regulation it is put under.
The coalition, lead by trade body the GSM Association and including companies such as Nokia, Vodafone and AT&T, sent the open letter to the G20. It said that less regulation would allow it to create up to 25m jobs.
The industry also said that it was prepared to spend $550bn (£376bn) on building the infrastructure and networks necessary for the next stage of mobile broadband, and said that this would likely boost the world’s economies by around three to four per cent.
However, it said that would be dependent on how Governments went forward. It asked Governments to turn over a quarter of the spectrum freed up by the switch from analogue to digital broadcast services to increase capacity for mobile broadband services. It also warned that any increase in regulations would likely put the industry’s ability to deliver these upgrades in doubt.
"The business case for mobile broadband is highly dependant on regulatory policies," said the letter. "In recent times we have experienced a trend of rising intervention, often where this is not appropriate."
Source: Mobile
