Speaking at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, Mr Fries said: "I don’t see 5G becoming reality very soon because 4G hasn’t yet to be penetrated at a meaningful level - it hasn’t been scaled.

“You can wish all you want for 5G. You can have an overwhelmingly powerful vision for it. But without the capital it’s not going to happen.”

His comments come as the Government unveils a new Digital Strategy, which puts encouraging 5G rollout at the centre of policy. Taxpayers are due to stump up £740m for development and trials of the technology, which aims to deliver a leap in mobile internet speeds and capacity from 2020.