Page 9 - Port of Hamburg Magazine 1.2020

A rail-based system can more easily be operated autonomously, i.e. without drivers, than road traffic. That too, especially if suitable safety systems have been installed. And freight traffic is predestined for this, in that no passengers would be affected by it. It’s different with passenger transport.
Another topic is 5G technology, which offers com- pletely different opportunities for digitally running real-time processes. How do you see this technol- ogy?
One comment first of all: Taking the most recent auc- tion of 5G licences and seeing the sums that concerns have paid for these, and also remembering our experi- ence with 4G, then I have my doubts whether we shall have guaranteed supply everywhere that it is needed. The Federal network agency needs to change its way of looking at this, which focuses on the total number of households. With us, that would mean 30 percent of the land area. Looking at 5G usage in traffic, agricul- ture and tourism, then just considering households is of no use.
To take up the topic of guaranteed supply: We have the problem that there are areas in the Elbe estuary
that don’t even have 3G. Pilots have state-of-the- art equipment and programs. Yet they cannot use their tablets because there’s no reception there. They are ‘flying blind’ part of the way, or have to make do with VHF voice communication. If secu- rity, among other aspects, is affected, would it not be appropriate for the state to oblige companies to ensure a basic supply?
We don’t have the problem with pilots, although we are aware of the situation in the Elbe estuary. When the auction was coming up last year, we sub- mitted a motion in the Upper House. This made clear that we regard supply of frequencies as a one-hundred-percent public service, with supply throughout the country needing to be guaranteed. We proposed that companies must provide proof that they possess sufficient funds to ensure blanket coverage, and then they receive frequencies free of charge. Unfortunately we were unable to prevail, but supply must be ensured. We need to work on that.
The example of the pilots, especially, shows that a free market solution is not viable, because that never pays. Yet it is essential for security reasons. We need to finds solutions for this. ■
Port of Hamburg Magazine | March 2020 | 09
DIGITAL DECADE ■