Don Alusha

“5G Slicing continues to promise new value creation in the industry,” explained Don Alusha, senior analyst at ABI Research. “However, as reflected in multiple ABI Research’s market intelligence reports, a solid software and cloud-native foundation must be in place for that promise to materialize. That, in turn, is a prerequisite for a wider diffusion of 5G core adoption, an architecture that provides native support for 5G slicing.”

“5G Slicing continues to promise new value creation in the industry. However, as reflected in multiple ABI Research’s market intelligence reports, a solid software and cloud-native foundation must be in place for that promise to materialize. That, in turn, is a prerequisite for a wider diffusion of 5G core adoption, an architecture that provides native support for 5G slicing,” explains Don Alusha, Senior Analyst at ABI Research.

“5G Slicing continues to promise new value creation in the industry,” said ABI Research senior analyst Don Alusha. “However, as reflected in multiple ABI Research market intelligence reports, a solid software and cloud-native foundation must be in place for that promise to materialise. That, in turn, is a prerequisite for a wider diffusion of 5G core adoption, an architecture that provides native support for 5G slicing.”

These market engagements are a good foundation for the industry to match 5G slicing technology to high-value use cases, such as Enhanced Machine-Type Communication (eMTC) and Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC) URLLC. “5G Slicing continues to promise new value creation in the industry. However, as reflected in multiple ABI Research’s market intelligence reports, a solid software and cloud-native foundation must be in place for that promise to materialize. That, in turn, is a prerequisite for a wider diffusion of 5G core adoption, an architecture that provides native support for 5G slicing,” explains Don Alusha, Senior Analyst at ABI Research.

There are multiple reasons behind the existing weak demand outlook, said Don Alusha, senior analyst at ABI Research. Noting that the “global economy remains weak”, with concerns about a recession and inflation still prevalent in the United States, as well as the ongoing war in Ukraine, he said that “there remain many unknown unknowns across the board.”

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Conversing with Silverlinings over email recently, ABI Research’s Don Alusha, a senior analyst in its telco digitization practice, had some thoughts on the technical issues and customer requirements that are driving 5G SA take-up.

“5GC holds potential for operators to monetise further existing cellular connectivity for traditional mobile broadband (MBB) use cases but also offers scope for operators to expand cellular capabilities in new domains. Additionally, 5GC also offers innovation potential for committed telcos to establish new operating models for growth outside of the consumer domain,” explains Don Alusha, Senior Analyst, 5G Core and Edge Networks, at ABI Research.

“5GC holds potential for operators to monetize further existing cellular connectivity for traditional mobile broadband (MBB) use cases but also offers scope for operators to expand cellular capabilities in new domains. Additionally, 5GC also offers innovation potential for committed telcos to establish new operating models for growth outside of the consumer domain,” said Don Alusha, senior analyst for 5G core and edge networks at ABI Research.

ABI’s forecast is largely based on an increase in 5G Core (5GC) networks. To date, more than 35 5GC networks are operating in 5G standalone (SA) mode. 5GC is expected to lead to a growth in devices connected to the network and the traffic routed through it. “5GC holds potential for operators to monetize further existing cellular connectivity for traditional mobile broadband (MBB) use cases but also offers scope for operators to expand cellular capabilities in new domains. Additionally, 5GC also offers innovation potential for committed telcos to establish new operating models for growth outside of the consumer domain,” explains Don Alusha, Senior Analyst, 5G Core and Edge Networks, at ABI Research.

ABI Research says it expects the market for 5G core (5GC) to widen and include traditional mobile broadband use cases plus scope for operators to expand cellular capabilities in new domains. Don Alusha, Senior Analyst for 5GC and Edge Networks at ABI Research reckons 5GC offers telcos “a fluid and dynamic landscape” where changing requirements move the industry towards edge deployments and topologies.

“5GC holds potential for operators to monetize further existing cellular connectivity for traditional mobile broadband (MBB) use cases but also offers scope for operators to expand cellular capabilities in new domains. Additionally, 5GC also offers innovation potential for committed telcos to establish new operating models for growth outside of the consumer domain,” explains Don Alusha, Senior Analyst, 5G Core and Edge Networks, at ABI Research.

“Today, much of the traffic going through the packet core is handled via physical network elements. With a growing 5G subscriber base and ongoing adoption of 5GC, the expectation is that 4G traffic shifts to 5G networks,” said Don Alusha, 5G Core and Edge Networks Senior Analyst at ABI Research. Today’s classic model for packet core equipment sales is becoming irrelevant and moribund equipment hardware sales bear this out. Sales of packet core boxes will total $3.9 billion in 2027, predicted Alusha and, if so, this would be a risible growth from the current market valued at $3.5 billion in 2022. With the cloudification of packet core networks, the commercial imperative for vendors like Cisco, HPE, and Juniper, is to depart from a finite supply of integrated equipment to models based on software where the supply is essentially infinite.

As a result, ABI expects 5G slicing revenue to grow from US$309m in 2022 to about U$24bn in 2028, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 106%. “5G slicing adoption falls into two main categories,” said Don Alusha, 5G core and edge networks senior analyst at ABI Research. “One, there is no connectivity available. Two, there is connectivity, but there is not sufficient capacity, coverage, performance or security. For the former, both private and public organisations are deploying private network slices on a permanent and ad-hoc basis.” The second scenario is today mostly catered for by private networks, a market that ABI Research believes will grow from $3.6bn to $109bn by 2023, at a CAGR of 45.8%. Alusha added: “A sizable part of this market can be converted to 5G slicing. But first, the industry should address challenges associated with technology and commercial models. On the latter, consumers’ and enterprises’ appetite to pay premium connectivity prices for deterministic and tailored connectivity services remains to be determined. “Furthermore, there are ongoing industry discussions on whether the value that comes from 5G slicing can exceed the cost required to put together the underlying slicing ecosystem.” Read more about 5G slicing Oppo, Ericsson and Qualcomm collaborate to realise what they claim is industry-leading milestone of deploying 5G enterprise network slicing solution for commercially available Android 12 devices. Nokia and Proximus demo 5G network slicing innovation to support demanding network conditions such as congested networks in use cases including Industry 4.0, fixed wireless access and cloud gaming. Robotics and automation company teams with comms tech provider and leading Italian operator to deliver solutions for Industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing by using the potential of the 5G network as part of EU-funded 5Growth project. In addition to these benefits, the report also suggested that 5G slicing could replace a large part of current private networks and dedicated connectivity services. It can also enrich hyperscaler cloud services with guaranteed connectivity offers while reusing a large part of existing cellular assets. This is said to be why the initial driving force behind 5G slicing uptake is fixed wireless access (FWA) for the enterprise domain. In making its case for the latter point, ABI observed that there are more than 55 5G slicing proofs of concept and commercial tests from Ericsson, Huawei, Nokia and ZTE. These engagements, said the analyst, give the industry the insight to match up an emerging technology such as 5G slicing to new strategic opportunities and high-value use cases, depending on the market. In a key use case in the Middle East, communications service providers (CSPs) are deploying a separate core network (hardware-based slices) for mission-critical services. In Europe, the tendency has been for CSPs to deploy slices for mission-critical services on top of existing consumer networks. In other words, said ABI, there is a mixed market but with a common denominator in how to unlock growth in the enterprise domain at scale and based on end-to-end standardisation. “First, it is key for the industry to push for consistency and uniform practices across multiple domains,” said Alusha. “With 5G slicing, the industry should focus on convenience rather than performance, user experience rather than feature sets, and flexibility rather than rigidity. Ultimately, the core of the 5G slicing ‘dream’ is a business goal, not just a technology goal. “It involves taking a quantum leap forward in how business is conducted within the industry and by the industry’s customers. In contrast to 3G and 4G, with 5G, the industry should focus on value not from technology per se, but rather from the strategic leap forward it can enable. Consequently, a cautious approach is required so that the industry finds in 5G slicing a reasonable basis for taking actions that predictably and positively affect vendors’ and CSPs’ revenues.”

esearch company ABI Research has predicted 5G slicing revenue will grow from $309m in 2022 to approximately $24bn in 2028, potentially replacing private networks, but other industry analysts have cast doubt on the essential need to push the architecture. According to ABI Research’s bullish forecast, 5G slicing will continue to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 106% until 2028, as expectations suggest that enterprises will pay a premium for slicing the network according to their diverse needs and various services.

According to global technology intelligence firm ABI Research, 5G slicing revenue is expected to grow from US$309 million in 2022 to approximately US$24 billion in 2028, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 106%.

“5G slicing adoption falls into two main categories. One, there is no connectivi but there is not sufficient capacity, coverage, performance, or security. For the former, both private and public organizations are deploying private network slices on a permanent and ad hoc basis,” said Don Alusha, 5G Core and Edge NetwoNetworks Senior Analyst at ABI Research.

“With a growing importance of software, the commercial imperative from a vendor’s perspective is stark: depart from a finite supply of (3G and 4G) equipment, characterized by scarcity, to monetization models based on (5G) software where the supply is essentially infinite,” said Don Alusha, Senior Analyst 5G Core & Edge Networks at ABI Research.

ABI Research note says investment in 5G business paves the way for Communications Service Providers (CSPs) to operate in the software layer and opt for a new business model.

According to global technology intelligence firm ABI Research, data and analytics services revenue is expected to grow from US$140 million in 2021 to US$6.4 billion in 2026, at a CAGR of 115 percent. “Data is becoming a crucial production element, data collection, storage, processing, and an understanding of the economic specifics of data are key strands that provide both challenges and opportunities. With data and analytics key to value creation, CSPs should adopt standards-based analytics functions to drive actionable insights in their operations,” states Don Alusha, Senior Analyst 5G Core and Edge Networks at ABI Research.

The benefits of public cloud are clear — efficiency, scalability, and the ability to consolidate functions with less equipment. For telco operators this translates to better economics, business agility, and accelerated innovation at the pace of software, explained Don Alusha, senior analyst on telco cloud platforms at ABI Research.

According to global technology intelligence firm ABI Research, telco cloud revenue is expected to grow from US$8.7 billion in 2020 to US$29.3 billion in 2025, at a CAGR of 27%. Key markets are North America (US$10 billion), Europe, (US$8.2 billion), and Asia-Pacific (US$9.1 billion).

According to ABI Research, telco cloud revenue is expected to grow from $8.7 billion in 2020 to $29.3 billion in 2025, at a CAGR of 27%. Key markets for this growth are North America (US$10 billion), Europe (US$8.2 billion), and Asia-Pacific (US$9.1 billion). ABI Research says Communication Service Providers (CSPs) are looking to automate and transform networks and their telco cloud infrastructure to capture new growth. This is generally being driven by an increase in user data demand, an increasingly complex network, the cost of operations, and new B2B revenue growth tied to 5G adoption. Because of this, CSPs recognise they need to start thinking differently about telco cloud planning and design, construction, maintenance, and network provisioning if they're going to optimise telco cloud value and address key pain points. "There are, broadly speaking, several structural challenges and pain points that characterise today's telco operations," says ABI Research senior analyst of 5G & Mobile Network Infrastructure, Don Alusha.

“That diversity increases the chances of human error, and it is exactly what CSPs seek to address with the deployment of a telco cloud,” said Don Alusha, senior analyst, 5G & Mobile Network Infrastructure at ABI Research.

As 5G networks continue to expand in coverage and reach more consumers, the next-generation technology will be a critical enabler for new use cases for other applications. In the case of media, gaming and entertainment, 5G and edge networks are crucial to the development of these segments moving forward, according to new data from ABI Research. 5G will extend gaming into a fully immersive, multi-sensorial environment with multi-player collaboration to access and play the same game. This will drive 119 million cloud gaming users by 2024 and ABI forecasts that 5G edge networks stand to unlock cloud video revenues up to $67.5 billion by 2024, up from $5 billion in 2019. This will be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 67%. “In general, the tectonic shift in the entertainment sector toward streaming of video, music and games is exciting for communications service providers (CSPs) to tap into,” said Don Alusha, senior analyst for 5G core and edge networks at ABI Research. “5G edge networks integrate cellular architecture with IT and cloud infrastructure to reduce end-to-end latency for a multitude of services and use cases.”

Today, most media and gaming use cases, especially cloud gaming and cloud video, are consumer-centric, but 5G and edge infrastructure will ultimately cross over to enterprise use cases. “In general, the tectonic shift in the entertainment sector toward streaming of video, music, and games is exciting for CSPs to tap into,” explains Don Alusha, Senior Analyst, 5G Core & Edge Networks at ABI Research. “5G edge networks integrate cellular architecture with IT and cloud infrastructure to reduce end-to-end latency for a multitude of services and use cases.”

NEW DELHI: 5G edge networks willl drive cloud video revenues from $5 billion in 2019 to $67.5 billion by 2024, at a CAGR of 67%, according to insights from ABI Research. At the same time, 5G and edge networks will drive 119 million cloud gaming users by 2025. “5G edge networks bring new capabilities allowing communications service providers (CSPs) to develop innovative applications, services, and revenue streams in the media and entertainment domain,” the market research firm said in a statement.

A new report by analyst house ABI Research says the traditional telco community is restructuring its enterprise operations, including by establishing brand new business units, in order to deliver custom 5G networks for private industrial usage, and to make 2021 a “boon year” for “5G and edge networks”. Carriers AT&T, Telefonica, Verizon, and Vodafone and vendors Ericsson and Nokia have all reorganized for pitched battle in industrial markets, it noted. In concert, hyper-scaler cloud providers Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are stepping up efforts to provide edge-based storage and, importantly, compute solutions to run in enterprise venues and multi-access edge (MEC) infrastructure in operator networks. Besides, a whole ecosystem of service providers is jockeying for position. “All these players are investing significantly in edge locations, 5G infrastructure, and backbone networks,” it said.

The value chain of 5G edge networks It is an opportunity for the industry to generate new revenue and gain visibility in a market that will include data center companies, companies in selected verticals, public cloud and content delivery (CDN) providers. All of these players are investing significantly in edge locations, 5G infrastructure, and the backbones that connect them. So, according to a new report from Abi Research, 5G edge networks will play a key role in unlocking the business potential of new use cases, such as 5G private networks. In fact, the consultancy estimates that the income of 5G private networks grow from $ 1.6 billion in 2021 to $ 65 billion in 2030, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 60.1% “With 5G edge networks, personalized business deals will be struck. Consequently, CSPs and manufacturers are looking to establish business models that are governed by different KPIs, both technical and commercial,” he explains. Don Alusha, 5G Core & Edge Networks Senior Analyst at Abi Research. This is in contrast to products that work with particular mass market subscriber business models, specific to each country or region. The deployments of this type of infrastructure will mark the evolution of the business and the integration with vertical industries. To that end, level 1 operators (for example, AT&T, Telefónica, Verizon and Vodafone) and the vendors (eg Ericsson and Nokia) are setting up new enterprise business units.

Ericsson is another leader in the overall rankings with a very focused strategy for 5G Core in particular, and cellular in general. However, there is fierce competition from other NEVs like Nokia and ZTE who continue to compete to establish a strong position in the market. “Market dominance is contingent on vendor positioning and strategy, degree of focus on existing market requirements, and the size of the opportunity,” explains Don Alusha, Senior Analyst, 5G Core & Edge Networks at ABI Research.

ABI noted that despite all of the bad news surrounding the company’s technology within global operators’ networks, Huawei provided a competitive 5G core, edge, and AI capability that include both breadth and depth on a highly efficient foundation. Ericsson was seen as another leader in the overall rankings with a very focused strategy for 5G Core in particular, and cellular in general. However, ABO added that there was “fierce” competition from other network equipment operators (NEVs) like Nokia and ZTE who continue to compete to establish a strong position in the market. “Market dominance is contingent on vendor positioning and strategy, degree of focus on existing market requirements, and the size of the opportunity,” said Don Alusha, senior analyst, 5G Core & Edge Networks at ABI Research.

Telecoms are driven by standard bodies that have long cycle times to next-generation technologies. On the other hand, open source is characterized by an agile approach that moves faster. “Though CSPs are at different timeslots in their digitalization journey, they should collectively propel the open source agenda forward. A close collaboration between standard bodies and open source communities is a step in that direction,” said Don Alusha, senior analyst at ABI Research.

CSPs that wish to keep abreast with OTT and web scale companies may have to implement the same technologies and agile processes to stay competitive and rapidly innovate. OSS and by extension, cloud technologies, promise nimbleness, but whether CSPs can seize the opportunity remains to be seen. Telecoms are driven by standard bodies that have long cycle times to next-generation technologies. On the other hand, open source is characterized by an agile approach that moves faster. "Though CSPs are at different timeslots in their digitalization journey, they should collectively propel the open source agenda forward. A close collaboration between standard bodies and open source communities is a step in that direction," says Don Alusha, Senior Analyst at ABI Research.

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on Alusha, a senior analyst at ABI Research, said, “Private networks typically have their own authentication and authorization of devices and equipment. Whereas 5G slicing customizes network services according to different ranges of granular requirements, and reliability is guaranteed by service providers.”

As a result, a complete slicing mechanism is projected by 2024, and at that point, 5G slicing will generate almost $20 billion market revenue – reveals a recent ABI Research study. Basically, there are various business drivers for 5G slicing – New solutions that could be deployed with little/ no disruption to existing services Network verticals can optimize network competency with a potentially lower cost 5G slicing allows vertical partners to bring a wider range of business services based on network slices to the market Indeed, service agility is a challenge with the current network environment. Thus, such 5G-based business services are often customized in line with the required service-level agreements (SLAs) as well as network key performance indications (KPIs). Amid the pandemic, the shared network infrastructure is utilized across different 5G slices, promoting better resource utilization. Besides, this can also reduce integration scope as well as complexity. The widespread scope of hat 5G slice deployment requires the extensive maturity of the marketplace. In its essence, vendors increasingly invest in propelling ecosystem cohesion while bulking up their 5G slicing abilities. For instance, Amdocs, Nokia, Huawei, and Ericsson are some of the technology vendors that are designing 5G slice-centric packages that offer combined effect with their existing systems and networks. Also Read Interview: The Right Way for Enterprises to Successfully Implement Their Digital Transformation Initiatives Certainly, an entire 5G slicing mechanism will involve inter-operations with several existing systems among multiple vendors. Ultimately, the global deployment of 5G slicing requires the industry to re-adjust traditional ways of doing business for including knowledge of the enterprise environment. The industry experts believe 5G slicing is a drive for the whole industry, and the foundation for primary use cases has already been recognized. For instance, the same vendor 5G slicing, as well as campus/LAN deployments, are most likely to be commercialized in the next few years. In this context, Don Alusha, Senior Analyst at ABI Research, concludes – “Multi-vendor implementations and WAN type deployments are more challenging. These capabilities will potentially be brought to market starting in 2023 and beyond, with a proliferation of 5G standalone core deployments, investment in edge computing to develop low-latency use cases, and further industry consensus on how terminals can support network slicing.”

Ericsson’s launch of its 5G Core Policy Studio is a notable announcement for the telecoms industry since it accelerates Service Providers’ efforts to capture new revenue streams by offering granular service differentiation and a tailored quality of experience, Don Alusha, Senior Analyst at tech market advisory firm, ABI Research, said.

Much of the upside growth discussion at present focuses on how various industry verticals can alleviate the operational complexity of doing business with 5G Network Slicing. “This research highlights the importance of 5G Slicing as an enabler for new value creation, particularly as communications service providers (CSPs) bolster their capabilities to go beyond connectivity revenues,” said Don Alusha, senior analyst at ABI Research.

Enterprise decision-makers are seeking to identify the best deployment models for a trial private cellular wireless network initiative. Many of the CIOs and CTOs at progressive companies and forward-looking public sector agencies are already defining requirements for fifth-generation (5G) infrastructure investments. With 5G deployments proliferating, the importance of network slicing for the enterprise domain is set to grow. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, the demand for 5G slicing will be propelled primarily by heavy industry verticals. Industrial manufacturing, cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X), and logistics alone will potentially generate cumulative revenues of $12 billion by 2026, representing a significant portion of an overall 5G slicing market that will likely exceed the $20 billion mark. 5G network slicing market development Much of the upside growth discussion at present focuses on how various industry verticals can alleviate the operational complexity of doing business with 5G Network Slicing. “This research highlights the importance of 5G Slicing as an enabler for new value creation, particularly as communications service providers (CSPs) bolster their capabilities to go beyond connectivity revenues,” said Don Alusha, senior analyst at ABI Research.

Don Alusha, senior analyst at ABI Research wrote in a report, “Many communication service providers are already on a journey to become augmented service providers where AI augments human decision making for prediction, analysis, and new revenues.”

ABI says there are three predominant business drivers for 5G slicing. First, it notes that new services can be deployed with little or no disruption to existing services and that with today’s networks, service agility is a challenge because the introduction of new services necessitates reconfiguration of underlying networks.

ABI Research says the demand for 5G slicing will be propelled primarily by heavy industry verticals. Industrial manufacturing, C-V2X, and logistics alone will potentially generate cumulative revenues of US$12 billion by 2026, representing a significant portion of an overall 5G slicing market that will likely exceed the US$20 billion mark. Much of the discussion at present focuses on how various industry verticals can alleviate the operational complexity of doing business with 5G Network Slicing. Don Alusha, 5G Core & Edge Networks Senior Analyst at ABI Research, says value creation will be a key factor towards the success of 5G and hope is being pinned on 5G slicing to do that.

5G is a composition of several network layers that leverage technology with varied maturity levels, such as Open RAN, network slicing, cloud infrastructure (private, public, and hybrid), and cloud-edges. With respect to cloud-edges, the broader Artificial Intelligence (AI) industry is witnessing a migration of AI to the edge. For example, the edge AI training and inference market for chipset sales is expected to grow from US$2.6 billion in 2020 to US$10.7 billion in 2025, at a CAGR of 35%. New enterprise use cases place new performance, agility, and latency requirements on the network. Together with the ongoing quest to drive new growth, these are compelling the industry to shed human-intensive networks in favour of an intelligence-driven ecosystem, according to ABI Research.

The increased use of AI and machine learning (ML) in network infrastructure is widely expected to lower costs by automating functions that typically require human interaction. “Many communication service providers are already on a journey to become augmented service providers where AI augments human decision making for prediction, analysis, and new revenues,” Don Alusha, senior analyst at ABI Research, wrote this week in a report. Operators are also investing in AI and ML to capture growth with the rapid development of new services, but internal overhauls of operations are equally important to achieve those goals, he said. “Communication service providers must realize that the new world in cellular must start with a foundation on software and API-led connectivity,” Alusha explained. “This may well mean that, in addition to bolting on software and intelligent capabilities, communication service providers need to learn how to build them as cloud edges, open radio access networks (RAN), and 5G core proliferates in the ecosystem.”

5G is a composition of several network layers that leverage technology with varied maturity levels, such as Open RAN, network slicing, cloud infrastructure (private, public, and hybrid), and cloud-edges. With respect to cloud-edges, the broader Artificial Intelligence (AI) industry is witnessing a migration of AI to the edge. For example, the edge AI training and inference market for chipset sales is expected to grow from US$2.6 billion in 2020 to US$10.7 billion in 2025, at a CAGR of 35%. Furthermore, new enterprise use cases place new performance, agility, and latency requirements on the network. These, along with the ongoing quest to drive new growth, are compelling the industry to shed human-intensive networks in favor of an intelligence-driven ecosystem, finds global tech market advisory firm ABI Research. Of late, telecoms are actively expanding the utilization of

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Global telco cloud revenue will grow to US$29.3 billion by 2025, up from US$8.7 billion in 2020, at a 5-year Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 27%, according to a new report from ABI Research. The telco cloud growth will be driven primarily by cloud infrastructure-related investments, such as virtual network functions (VNFs), management and network orchestration (MANO), and cloud-native functions (CNFs). By 2025, the telco cloud market will be worth US$10 billion in North America, US$9 billion in Asia-Pacific (APAC), and US$8.2 billion in Europe, forecasts global tech market advisory firm, ABI Research in the report, The 36 Transformative Technology Stats You Need to Know for 2021.

According to a research note from ABI Research focusing on telco cloud revenues from 5G core deployments, this could fall between 20% to 30% short of previous forecasts of $9 billion this year. ABI fears the investment shortfall in updating networks could be between $2 billion to $3 billion ‘in the short term’. “The 5G market was growing faster than anticipated, with 2020 expected to be the starting point for 5G Standalone (SA) core commercial deployments in CSPs’ networks. But that expectation may take a little longer to materialize. “That is due, in part, to the fact that Covid-19 will almost certainly derail further trials and testing to verify the processing performance and stability of 5G Stand Alone networks. In the short term the industry may have no choice but to protect existing consumer revenue,” suggests Don Alusha, senior analyst at ABI. Meanwhile, Dimitri Mavrakis, Research Director for 5G at ABI, told EE Time,s“there are relatively few challenges as regards the supply chain, which remains relatively robust. The biggest problem we see impacting deployments is that relating to site engineers and technicians, who clearly need to follow strict guidelines when working in close proximity with others, as well as access issues to some key sites.” Again, these sentiments echo the projections at Gartner. Porowski told EE Times, “infrastructure supply chains have been slowed but not broken. CSP inventories have thinned, but at the moment there are no major concerns about the non-availability of critical infrastructure.” Mavrakis suggests this could add at least 3 months of delays to the process. The bigger problem, he argues, is consumer confidence and the availability of 5G enabled devices. The lockdown has also, counter intuitively, focused some to question the need for 5G. “We are hearing from clients, and experiencing, that existing networks are coping relatively well at most operators. But this really misses the point that 5G is targeting the macrocell domain, and thus outdoors coverage. Of course, most of us now are indoors. That clearly will change and we will see that 5G is very much a much needed, cutting edge technology for the medium and long term.” ABI Research said due to disruptions in the supply chain, caused primarily by a shortage of certain components and integration engineers, it is now forecasting a 10% fall in 5G infrastructure revenues from the forecasted $2.1 billion. As for 5G enabled smartphones, “we are looking at a 30% shortfall in shipments for now, but this, also, will be reined back once business is back to normal,” said Mavrakis. The big surge is expected to come once the mobile network operators have opened their retail outlets, where the majority of upgrades and new subscriptions are sealed. According to senior analyst at ABI research Jiancao Hou, the spread of Covid-19 globally is likely to delay deployment of advanced 5G NR systems, including MIMO and active antennas that many operators have started deploying. “This may mean that operators that have already deployed a significant number of base stations will be in a better position to become early adopters and benefit from an earlier transition from previous generations to 5G, but this will rely on the availability of relevant handsets.” Referencing the on-going discussions on OpenRAN and open networks, Hou suggests “it is important for mobile operators to broaden their supply chain and avoid a single-vendor infrastructure market.”

Nokia isn’t alone in this view. A new report from ABI Research contends that the “momentum of enterprise 5G will come to screeching halt without a cloud-native platform.” The firm predicts the market for cloud network elements in 4G and 5G networks will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 25% reaching $20 billion by 2024. However, because cloud-native computing poses some challenges for operators that are primarily focused on a specific country or region, “there is no one-size-fits-all model that [managed service providers] can adopt in a way that is sufficiently impactful and not disruptive,” said Don Alusha, senior analyst at ABI Research, in a prepared statement.

Data has always been valuable for a variety of business purposes, but as 5G continues to expand worldwide, mobile service providers and other companies are realizing they need to rethink how they use and present new troves of information. ABI Research's 5G Cloud Data Management report points to the manufacturing industry as easy evidence of the value innovative data management can bring. According to their study, yearly analytics and data services revenue in the manufacturing industry is expected to reach $82 billion by 2030. The ability to collect, sort, present and use data will be crucial now that companies will have more access to information thanks to 5G networks. The report says that right now, most data "remains dark, disparate and isolated." "This hybrid environment calls for a 5G data governance system that rests on a (cloud) data management infrastructure anchored on two pillars: one, a standardized data format; and two, interoperability across multiple networks (e.g.,4G and 5G)," said Don Alusha, senior analyst at ABI Research. "Furthermore, obtaining both structured data and unstructured data from the network and IT side respectively is a key requirement for the much-coveted data centric operations the industry is seeking, Alusha said.

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However, the report’s author, Don Alusha, Senior Analyst at ABI, states that unless operators identify and prioritise vertical industries needing edge solutions immediately, they are in danger of being superseded by Amazon, Google, and Facebook. He concluded, “This will seriously devalue 5G and the future of mobile service providers in general.”

According to ABI Research network slicing stands to create approximately US$66 billion in value coming from the ever-increasing digital requirements of industry verticals. “Telcos (aka Mobile Service Providers or MSPs) are increasingly seeking to create services that are more differentiated and tap into the growth engine of the future, intrinsically linked to a superior experience for end consumers, and operational simplicity for enterprises and end verticals,” commented Don Alusha, Senior Analyst at ABI Research. Alusha concluded: “Network slicing revenues will eventually be on an upward trajectory, driven by digital, cloud, and security requirements of multiple industry verticals, particularly for the trio of manufacturing, logistics, and automotive. Realizing the full revenue potential is dependent on essential slicing infrastructure from vendors, and pertinent applications delivered by MSPs.”

“In a business setting, nothing big starts big from the onset and tomorrow’s growth is not easy to spot for commercial entities lacking a clear understanding of the opportunity at stake,” said Don Alusha, Senior Analyst at ABI Research. “On one hand, the increasingly growing market for telco edge solutions and services is no doubt tomorrow’s opportunity, but it is one that is currently very complex in terms of technologies and competing stakeholders. MSPs, on the other hand, are in limbo - they understand the edge holds great potential, but they don’t yet know how to make money out of it. They need a “hero” edge application to kick start this market.”

"Industrial segments such as manufacturing, logistics, and automotive are pursuing digitalization and automation with vitality and substantial investments. 5G network slicing aims to serve as a stepping stone to drive productivity growth and enable the high-performance connectivity that underpins the dynamic, secure, and reliable interconnection of industrial systems and machinery," said Don Alusha, senior analyst at ABI Research.

The ABI Research Network Slicing and Industry Verticals report estimates that $32 billion, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 96 percent through 2026, in value would be created in just the manufacturing vertical. This sector stands to benefit from 5G network slicing as it enables the high-performance connectivity that industrial systems and machinery require. According to ABI analyst Don Alusha, these systems rely on dynamic, secure, and reliable interconnection to operate.

Development and adoption of AI must be done in a systematic and unified manner across managed service providers' (MSPs') departments and initiatives, according to ABI Research. Using AI solely as a tactical response to problems or to exploit specific opportunities without creating a companywide vision and implementation strategy will limit artificial intelligence's huge potential. "AI adoption is focused on narrow use cases whereby telcos are aiming to tackle specific pain points," wrote ABI Senior Analyst Don Alusha in response to emailed questions from FierceTelecom. "We argue that AI suppliers must enable an adoption roadmap wherein use case specific actions taken now yield short term desired outcomes, but also have an effect that radiates out for years to come towards a wider AI stratagem."