Major Implementation Challenges Ahead

Technology implementers in enterprise verticals are currently crafting their digital transformation strategies, where wireless connectivity is a major component. Making sense of wireless technologies is not the key priority of most enterprises, many of which have been supported by proprietary technologies. 5G, on the other hand, aims to bring carrier-grade, low cost, and standards based wireless connectivity capabilities to many enterprise verticals. However, implementing 5G networks cross various verticals and industries will face some major challenges, the most notable are:

• Each enterprise vertical represents a unique set of requirements from 5G, and there may be significant differences even within the same vertical. Accommodating all these requirements under a single infrastructure prove to be challenging and require a meticulous way of how the network resources are virtualized sliced, and orchestrated.
• The telecoms industry is taking a gradual approach to upgrading the network from 4G to 5G starting by addressing the short-term opportunities that are predominantly driven by the consumer market. The industry should take a more balanced but radical approach to implementing 5G networks, for instance by addressing the enterprise market that will be the main cash-cow in the longer-term. Upgrading the network capacity, enhancing the end-use bandwidth or network latency is not enough to build a real value proposition for the enterprise market.
• The telecoms standard and regulatory bodies are focusing on improving the consumer experience and are at a serious risk of missing the short timeframe where they can position 5G as a transformational tool Targeting the enterprise market. There is a huge gap between enterprise vertical requirements and the telecoms supply chain vision for 5G networks, often based on build it they will come approach. If this gap is not narrowed, 5G will remain a consumer-driven technology, revenues from which will not be able to justify nationwide deployments.
• Telcos will face a growing pressure from Webscale companies who are increasingly targeting the very same verticals the 5G telecoms market is hoping to transform 5. Many Enterprises may hijack 5G technologies to build their own networks tailored to their own requirements, which could lead to lost opportunities by the incumbent mobile service providers.
• A number of core 5G technologies are still not mature and their implementations could require different approaches depending on the nature of markets addressed. This development could lead to potential technology fragmentation if implementers are not accepted as key influencers in the 5G standards evolution.