WHILE STANDARDIZATION EFFORTS FOR 5G have just begun, operators around the world are planning for 5G adoption and describe it as a “game-changer”, according to a new survey by Ericsson.
To learn more about operators’ expectations, use cases and plans for 5G, Ericsson commissioned a detailed survey of 100 technology leaders from operators in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Central and Latin America. Respondents included COOs, CTOs and CIOs, as well as heads of network operations, network innovation and network development.
Almost all (95%) of the respondents in the survey agreed that 5G supports the ongoing influx of connected devices and the Internet of Things (IoT). This is because 5G will increase network capacity, which will be required to handle the traffic generated by the expected 28 billion connected devices in 2021. In addition, 5G will decrease the energy requirements for devices, enabling battery life of up to 10 years in some cases. This will significantly reduce maintenance costs, making large IoT installations more practical and cost-effective.
A very large majority of respondents (86%) said they believed that 5G enables a wider range of services than any network has done before, and 86% also believed that 5G will enable new disruptive business models and technology in industries.
The introduction of 5G will allow operators to become more flexible and efficient by moving from a rigid network to an agile one that can meet many diverse needs with new, as-a-service business models using network slicing.
Overall, there is an expectation that 5G will be an innovation platform that provides the ability to bring new services to market quickly. This will enable operators to take advantage of market opportunities and dynamically meet changing consumer and business needs.
Ericsson predicts that there will be 150 million 5G subscriptions by the end of 2021, and that time is fast approaching. Click here for more on the survey.
