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The European Commission will grant 50 million euros ($65 million)...

The European Commission will grant 50 million euros ($65 million) for “5G” research, Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes said Tuesday at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. “I want 5G to be pioneered by European industry, based on European…

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research and creating jobs in Europe -- and we will put our money where our mouth is,” she said. It’s part of the plan to remove roadblocks mobile operators face in Europe’s fragmented market, she said. One challenge is spectrum, a resource increasingly in short supply and ever more expensive. Some EU governments see auctions as mere revenue-raisers, ignoring the wider public interest for consumer prices and network investment, she said. And many countries have different assignment systems, forcing operators to deal with a kaleidoscope of varying rules and practices. Other challenges to mobile rollout include widely different planning and permit rules, uncertainty about infrastructure-sharing, and uncoordinated research, she said. The recent political agreement on the next EU budget cut more than eight billion euros from the “Connecting Europe Facility,” in practice not leaving enough money to invest in broadband, she said. But Kroes said she’s determined to deliver broadband for all, and for that the market must be improved. Among other things, there will be a wireless action plan to find more spectrum and make it easier for providers to invest in new networks, she said. She will take a holistic look at new wireless services to boost transport, health and cities, she said. The EC will also go after countries that haven’t awarded spectrum already harmonised across Europe or are violating other EU laws, she said.