5G is a key technology for industry because manufacturing companies require fast data throughput at high bandwidths for connecting and controlling machines and robots. According to TÜV Rheinland , the volume of data used in Germany doubled to over one billion gigabytes between 2015 and 2017 alone. According to a survey of visitors to a broadband trade fair, many companies for which 5G is relevant do not want to wait until the public network expands: 47% of them are considering the idea of setting up their own campus network. 45% nevertheless felt inadequately informed about the issue.

Established telecommunications providers seem to be aware of the need. golem.de quotes Marcus Thurand of Telefónica Germany as saying that 5G will “not be for the masses”. He sees 5G being used mainly for new industrial applications for the time being. Like TÜV Rheinland, Thurand also addresses the topic of broadband expansion. In his view, Germany is lagging behind other countries.