As a member of the economy committee, I'm of course very pleased to speak in this debate today on the mobile action plan. It's something that I know, Deputy Minister, impacts businesses in my constituency, and something I'm really passionate about. So, I am pleased that the Welsh Government has accepted all recommendations from the committee's report, which some Members have alluded to before me. I think it shows how serious the Welsh Government is about working together to ensure we don't fall short in our ambition to become a global 5G leader, but with that in mind, we do know that competition is fierce on a global stage, and that the UK, unfortunately, as a whole is behind, which is something we need to address.

Llywydd, six countries are already adopting 5G technology, and they include the United States, Japan and China, just to name a few. Now, I spoke about automation and 5G in a statement last year, but I want to take a slightly different approach today, and I want to focus on the impact 5G can have and two things in particular: autonomous vehicles and remote healthcare. Now 5G networks can respond fast enough to co-ordinate self-driving cars, either with cars talking to a central controller at a road intersection, or communicating directly with each other. We sometimes think that this type of technology is years away, and miles away from being a reality, but, actually, we're already seeing companies make Tesla make huge strides in this market. Other companies and experts are already discussing how 5G technology could lead to no traffic lights in the streets—there are cars that are crossing, but they're not bumping into each other. Once all cars have sensors and cameras, they could also capture continuous video footage. Now, if there's an unfortunate accident you'll be able to view video from all angles, not just from the cars involved, but from cars all in the same area at the same time.

Moving to remote healthcare, we know that getting 5G right could permit doctors to perform procedures remotely. The lag time is so miniscule that doctors could use robots to operate on you from 1,000 miles away. People in remote regions across the world can be treated by specialists from wherever, something that is pretty amazing in my eyes.

So, Llywydd, how do we make what seems to be futuristic today's reality? Now, it is possible, because we know that other countries are already leading the way, as I've said before. It requires us to ask difficult questions and rethink how we've been rolling out technology developments in the past here in Wales and in the UK. Should we really wait until everyone is on 4G, and run the risk of certain areas missing out on the opportunity of being 5G pioneers? Now, to be clear, I do want every part of this country to have the best connectivity, but I also want us to jump at the opportunities that are out there in the present.

My generation knows nothing other than technology, so there's no reason why we shouldn't have 5G in our lives. We should, as a Government, as a country, be doing 4G and 5G projects simultaneously, alongside ensuring we have gigabit cities and hubs like I've suggested in the past. Llywydd, there's been a lot of discussion in this Chamber, and it's often about looking to the future. But we are out of touch if we think that's the case with 5G, because with 5G, the future is here and it's now. Diolch.