In the technology space, it’s vital that your organization stay on top of prevailing trends in your respective industry. This extends to keeping tabs on the competition or, if you’re seeking a solution provider, weighing your options. That’s why ABI Research released its 40 Technology Companies To Watch In 2023 whitepaper to better understand which tech firms are winning in terms of innovation and implementation of their technology products/software.
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Connectivity is becoming central to almost every aspect of our lives. It has radically changed our lifestyle, enhanced our productivity, transformed the way we work and do business, and reduced the digital divide between developed and developing countries. As a result, demand for telecommunication technologies has exploded, touching almost every node of the infrastructure from the long haul to access networks, such as fixed broadband.
Europe, being one of the most developed and affluent regions in the world, will play a key role in the widespread 5G rollout. Europe is at the forefront of smart cities, campus lab testing, sustainability, and telecommunications innovation, not to mention the consumers, manufacturers, and various industrial enterprises that seek an improved mobile experience and/or must run automated systems on a private network. Each of these applications, among many others, will use 5G coverage as the backbone for myriad use cases.
The Communication Service Providers (CSPs) of today either have their eye on or have already begun the process of virtualizing their networks. This comes in the form of Network Function Virtualization (NFV), notably Cloud-native Network Functions (CNFs). The responsibilities of traditional hardware network assets provided by Network Equipment Vendors (NEVs) are increasingly being carried out through software, which improves Time to Market (TTM). To fill this growing market need, public cloud service providers have come forward to help virtualize 4G/5G networks all around the world. The public cloud not only provides improved deployment flexibility, but also affordable “pay-as-you-go” pricing models based on microservice applications. While jumping straight into the public cloud may be practical for some newcomers (greenfield operators) or industry disruptors like DISH, the traditional CSP should still view private on-premises deployment as a proven telco cloud strategy because it delivers on performance, cost, and security. Indeed, in the near term, 5G Core (5GC) network workloads will likely be hosted in on-premises cloud stacks.
Like virtually every other industry, the telecommunications (telecom) industry has been affected by current macroeconomic and geopolitical trends (war in Europe, high inflation, global warming, etc.), causing doubt about the future of their enterprise. In some areas, the influence of these key telecom trends may not be as severe as you’d think, but in other areas, there are some radical departures taking place. To help operators and ecosystem players understand the effects of ongoing global challenges, and how to plan for the future, ABI Research has compiled some of the most important developments surrounding the telecoms sector.
DISH’s 5G Network Deployment Plans
DISH Wireless has been in the forefront of the news for years now, being one of the few greenfield 5G network operators entering saturated markets and, at the same time, radically reshaping how mobile networks are being designed, dimensioned, and deployed. Indeed, DISH Wireless has chosen Amazon Web Services (AWS) to host a large part of its network and the hyperscaler has written extensive articles highlighting how the networking stack has been designed from the ground up to combine both AWS infrastructure and servers deployed in the new network. Moreover, DISH Wireless is a strong supporter of Open RAN and aims to use open interfaces, disaggregated hardware, cloud-native, and software throughout its network.
5G is leaps and bounds ahead of previous network cellular generations, enabling Communication Service Providers (CSPs) to offer brand new types of services, applications, and use cases to consumers and enterprises. Network slicing is one such offering that is expected to define the 5G era. By 2030, ABI Research anticipates roughly US$67.5 billion in 5G slicing revenue and growth at a striking 62% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) between 2025 and the end of the forecast period.
What to Know About 5G Network Slicing in 2025:
- Network slicing adoption accelerates in 2025. After years of development, 5G network slicing is finally entering the spotlight. Verizon and T-Mobile have launched slicing services in the U.S., with offerings tailored to first responders and enterprise clients. China continues to be ahead of the curve, with consumer slicing packages available for as little as US$2 per month. These moves signal the start of global momentum for consumer network slicing. According to ABI Research, Asia-Pacific accounts for 91% of global spending on slicing solutions. That number will decrease to 73% by 2030 as less mature markets (especially North America and EMEA) catch up.
- Key enablers make network slicing possible now. Several factors have aligned to make network slicing practical: nearly all smartphones shipped after 2022 support 5G Standalone (SA), operators are upgrading to SA and 5G-Advanced, and telcos have gained the necessary enterprise experience from private networks and edge computing. Together, these advances set the stage for slicing to scale.
- Consumer slicing offers the biggest near-term win. The telecom industry has shifted its focus from enterprises to consumers. Consumer network slicing is proving to be the more immediate opportunity, although enterprise customers will drive more total revenue. Subscription plans that prioritize certain apps or guarantee better performance are easy to roll out, appeal to broad audiences, and quickly unlock new revenue streams.
- Enterprise slicing adoption faces major challenges. Manufacturers and other enterprise users are cautious of network slicing. These enterprises prioritize network security and reliability, which creates resistance to using public networks. Additionally, implementing Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and Quality of Service (QoS) guarantees has become more complex. Therefore, ABI Research expects widespread enterprise slicing to take longer to materialize than consumer slicing.
Update: ABI Research's 2025 forecasts for the 5G market can be read in our blog, Top Industries/Applications Driving 5G Market Growth from 2025 to 2030.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic putting a strain on capital expenditure (CAPEX) in many industries, 5G investments were largely spared, as countries like China and South Korea go all-in with 5G rollouts. In ABI Research’s latest 5G market forecast for the years 2022 to 2027, it’s clear that adoption is destined for rapid growth and will shift from a minuscule slice of the network market to the largest network by 2026. Moreover, market data from some other reports, such as a 5G Advanced whitepaper and the IoT Tracker: 5G report—add more credence to the notion that 5G is rapidly overtaking 4G/LTE. In this post, we take a closer look at the 5G market forecast with eight eye-opening stats that every service provider needs to know to plan for success.
There’s nothing more fascinating than uncovering the development of certain technologies and how these came to be in today’s form. Cellular standards are no stranger to politics, lobbying, intense competition, patent disputes, and many other commercial rivalries. The choice of technologies in The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is one of these contested domains, where companies compete to promote their own technology choices, giving them a significant competitive advantage when they have a strong patent portfolio in the area. Channel coding is one of those areas, where interesting developments took place with 5G.