Monday 24 February 2020
The States will debate a requête on the policy governing 5G technology at this week's States of Deliberation meeting.
The requête, if successful, would direct the Committee for Economic Development to bring a policy letter on the policy governing 5G technology, including specific reference to the licence conditions and criteria, to the States of Deliberation either before the end of the current political term, or alternatively before the end of 2020.
Ahead of the debate, the Committee for Economic Development wishes to make it clear that it has already committed to bringing a policy letter to the States of Deliberation on the policy governing 5G technology, including the licence conditions and criteria, before the end of 2020. In the Committee's view the Assembly did not need to dedicate scarce time to debate this requête, as the Committee has already committed to bring a policy letter forward on this matter by the end of the year.
Deputy Charles Parkinson, President of the Committee for Economic Development, said:
'The requête on the policy governing 5G technology has two alternative propositions, one of which would require the Committee to bring a policy letter to the States by the end of this political term. In practice, under current timelines this would mean submitting a policy letter by 2nd April. The Committee's view is that it is not feasible to bring a well-informed policy letter on 5G technology before the end of this political term, because there would be insufficient time for proper consultation with interested parties.
'As I announced in the States of Deliberation on 5th February, the Committee for Economic Development has committed to bringing a policy letter on the policy governing 5G technology to the Assembly, including the licence conditions and criteria, before the end of the year. This will enable the Committee to consult with interested parties and will ensure that Members of the States of Deliberation have an opportunity to debate the introduction of this important new technology. It would also enable States members to feed in any matters which they would want considered in the policy letter.'