5. What plans does the First Minister have in place to support the roll-out of 5G technology? OAQ52283

We have appointed Innovation Point to advise, stimulate and develop activity on 5G in Wales, including opportunities to secure funding from the UK Government 5G test bed and trials fund.

Thank you, First Minister. 5G, as you know, will be crucial to enable much of the innovation that will come out of the fourth industrial revolution. Without 5G, things like driverless cars and the internet of things simply won't be possible. In China, they've already established 5G test beds in 16 cities and predict that 5G will be commercially available in 2020. We've currently got plans for just one, in Monmouthshire. There's an opportunity to use the Swansea bay city region metro that's being proposed as a test bed for using 5G in Wales to develop a new type of metro in the west. So, what is the First Minister going to do to make sure Wales isn't left behind, and will he commit to ensuring that 5G will be commercially available in Wales by 2020, just like in China?

Well, some of that is outside of our control, but he asked the question properly: what are we doing as a Government? Would I can say to him is that Innovation Point have been working closely with local authorities to develop credible bids and they have done that with the Swansea and Cardiff city regions. The deadline is the twelfth of this month, but that work is ongoing, so it's not just Monmouthshire, but we look at how this can work for our city regions as well. I can say as well that Innovation Point is working with Digital Catapult to undertake the Wales element of a wider UK 5G mapping study. That's delivered an up-to-date comprehensive view of the emerging 5G system in Wales on both the regional and local level. So, as far as the north is concerned, Innovation Point have also been providing support to Bangor University in their efforts to establish a digital signal processing centre of excellence in the north of our country. So, Monmouthshire, yes, first, but looking now, of course, at Swansea and Cardiff and beyond.

First Minister, can I welcome the fact that Monmouthshire will be chosen as a 5G test bed? I think the implications for rural connectivity are outstanding, and this announcement is a clear example of the UK Government delivering in terms of a digital strategy for Wales, and I look forward to how you're going to co-operate with it.

We've heard about the range of applications and these, to add to them, will go to smart farming with drones and using the internet to improve healthcare in the home and increasing manufacturing productivity, even as far as self-driving cars. So, what consideration are you giving to the impact that 5G technology will have on the health sector and public sector in Wales, first observing the practice in Monmouthshire?

Discussions are ongoing between the Cabinet Secretary, Julie James, and those in the health sector to see how 5G can benefit the health sector. As I said earlier on, we quite often see technology as something that primarily benefits the economy. It does, there's no question about that, but we know that there are opportunities in both health and education and other sectors to make sure that technology facilitates better working in the future.