So what’s the next big thing? The technology that will truly change everything?

Some say Blockchain, but according to Hans Westberg, chief executive of the Swedish telco giant Ericsson, the next big thing is 5G.

This new standard for blindingly fast wireless connectivity will, Vestberg promises, radically change every industry from healthcare to transportation to even government. In a couple of years time, Vestberg predicts, 5G will hit the marketplace and we’ll suddenly be able to do things on our mobile devices which we’ve only ever dreamt about before

Or, at least, it should change everything – as long as it doesn’t get bogged down in regulatory red tape. Vestberg warns that US and European regulators may not be on the same page in understanding what they should and shouldn’t do to enable the unleashing of 5G.

And he suggests that 5G is so radical that it might even change the whole Network Neutrality debate, shifting the need for a one-size-fit-all horizontal kind of regulation to specific rules for each vertical industry.

As always, many thanks to the folks at CALinnovates for their help in the production of this interview.