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Britain faces an enormous challenge in preparing for the introduction of a 5G network, Lord Adonis said.
The head of the National Infrastructure Commission said the country should prepare for an increase in mobile phone transmitters needed to deliver the next generation of services.
The new mobile phone network, 5G, will be unveiled in South Korea in 2018 to coincide with the Winter Olympics, but is unlikely to be launched in Britain until at least two years later, The Times reports.
Lord Adonis said: “We will need new transmitters all across the country. We will need the right regulation so that the market is allowed to flourish and we will need to ensure that the UK has the skills not only to deploy the infrastructure but to make use of it.
“5G has the potential to shape our world in ways that are completely unknowable today. (It) will spur innovations and industries we cannot even imagine.”
The network will be used to support a network of billions of sensors used in consumer and industrial products constantly exchanging information between machines and servers.
Examples could include surgeons operating remotely, and it will also be needed to ensure that driverless cars remain connected.
