2nd 5G FORUM – EL ECONOMISTA – THE CONNECTIVITY THAT MOVES THE WORLD

Araceli García Cuartango, CEO of Axión and Lineox, participated in the panel discussion “New Business Models in Telecommunications,” alongside Juan José Marfil, Mónica Sala, Ismael Serrano Casero, and Julia Velasco, organized by elEconomista.es, at the 2nd 5GeE Forum, which was sponsored by Axión, Deloitte, Digi, Ericsson, Netmetrix, Orange Empresas, Qualcomm, and Telefónica.

Araceli García advocated for “optimizing infrastructure through sharing,” given that this is “a highly innovative sector with significant added value.” In addition to spreading out these investment efforts, García argued that in recent years “there have been non-business models.” As an example, she invited reflection on the sustainability of a system where “a few operators bear all the sector’s investments.”

The CEO of Axión acknowledged that when it comes to the business opportunities of private 5G networks, “we are on the supplier’s side” and emphasized the key role of networks in the rollout of 5G and their impact on strategic sectors such as emergency response, security, and general connectivity. Among other figures, Axión operates more than 20 emergency networks, and she highlighted that the broadband offered by 5G could significantly improve coordination and response in critical situations, such as firefighting.

Regarding the infrastructure challenge in 5G development, Araceli García acknowledged that, “although the technology is already available, infrastructure remains an obstacle. For 5G to function efficiently, continuous coverage is necessary, and streetlights would be the ideal location for installing antennas. However, local regulations hinder this process, and the lack of open access to fiber-optic networks poses another challenge to network expansion.”

She emphasized that infrastructure is essential for a country’s development and that “investment in telecommunications must continue to avoid falling behind.” Although Spain has high-quality networks, the deployment of new infrastructure is unstoppable, especially considering that 80% of data traffic is generated indoors. “This means that operators must make significant efforts to ensure connectivity in all environments,” said Axión’s CEO.