A Spectrum Of Opportunities

To keep up with these promises, the telecoms industry must review current 5G implementation strategies and focus beyond higher network capacity and lower latency. While the value proposition of early 5G implementations fits the purpose and the business case of the consumer market, they are far from been optimized to unlock much bigger business opportunities in the enterprise verticals where 5G could be used as a key tool to accelerate their digital transformation. Network implementation flexibility, interoperability with legacy operation processes, cost effectiveness, network determinism, security and reliability will be equally important for the enterprise as improving the network performance.

In fact, 5G is more than just an access technology evolution to LTE, designed to extend network capacity and lowering its latency. 5G should be perceived as a transformation tool capable of supporting flexible implementations and requiring radical architectural changes, for instance collaboration between licensed and unlicensed spectrum, support of both public and private networks, support of various services with different requirements on demand, and bringing intelligence to the edge of the network for better end-user experiences.

5G – when it reaches critical mass in enterprise verticals – will transform the linear telecoms supply chain and partnerships will be vital for success in this new era. 5G will act as a platform on which developers will create new B2B enterprise applications and the role of mobile service providers will evolve from the model as we know it today, basically focusing on connectivity, to one where 5G is positioned a key tool for the industrial digital transformation. Edge computing, network slicing, APIs , and the emergence of new device types– even across mobile service provider networks – will be major components for the future 5G enterprise business.

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.

   

A 360° View Of The 5G Market

ABI Research's 5G Solution provides a 360-degree view on 5G technologies and markets, with end-to-end, in-depth technology, business, and opportunity analysis for 5G implementations across various verticals. We help enterprise verticals identify the optimal 5G implementation that can help them automate, mobilize, and digitize their operations cost effectively while enabling them to enhance their efficiency and productivity, resulting in better competitive positioning. The solution also aims to provide the technology supply chain with unbiased analysis of the end-markets requirements to help them identify and grasp the real opportunities across various industries. Whatever industry you are in, we provide both quantitative and qualitative insight and advice related to:

• How will the 5G value proposition align with the technology lifecycle associated with various industry verticals?
• How is connectivity perceived and how will 5G integrate and harmonize with the technology supply chain of that industry?
• What role will key players and forces play in influencing the 5G standards roadmap and implementations?
• How will the telecom supply chain transform to accommodate the needs of the enterprise verticals?
• What key pain points 5G will address and what impact this will have on the overall productivity of that industry and on the global GDP overall?