#33-5G- Telcos have the opportunity to encash the biggest Ecosystem wave

Sidhartha Sharma -Author and Digital Strategy Expert

5G is one of the few technologies that had its inception in the telecom sector, but the effects will be experienced across every major B2B sectors.

Approximately 10–12 Trillion US dollars worth of new value will be unlocked due to 5G impact on these business sectors.

5G technology is on the verge of getting deployed globally and has already been operational in few countries like China, South Korea, and the USA.

The high internet speeds of the 5G spectrum will revolutionize industries like- Telco, Internet of Things (IoT), Edge computing, Healthcare, Autonomous vehicles, communication, Smart grid, smart city, urban mobility, and surveillance and media industry.

Image-Singtel

Where are We Now?

1. 5G speeds will be a gamechanger: 5G speeds will range from ~50Mbit/s to over 2Gbit/s at the start and is expected to grow to even 100Gbit/s, 100x faster than 4G. The fastest 5G, called mmWave, delivers speeds of up to and over 2Gbit/s. As of July 2019, mmWave had a maximum speed of 1.8Gbit/s on AT&T’s 5G network, much faster than 4G’s top speed of 23.6Mbit/s on T-Mobile’s network.
2. Significant value creation will take place: As per a recent Qualcomm/IHS report, the 5G technology will disrupt virtually every industry sector and could result in $12.3 trillion in global sales by 2035. Manufacturing would see the most significant share of sales, accounting for about $3.4 trillion, or 28 percent. The information and communications sector will see the second-largest share, about $1.4 trillion.
3. Big consumer electronics and telco companies are getting ready: In Jan 2020, Xiaomi announced (US$7.18 billion) in artificial intelligence and 5G internet technologies over the next five years. All in IoT” strategy- a combination of AI and internet technologies. It started as an affordable cellphone maker, but its internet-enabled products now include smart TVs and rice-cookers. Huawei is already the world’s leading player in 5G infrastructure and roll-out technologies
4. The applications go beyond telecom alone: 5G is a more significant opportunity than most consumers/telecoms think. Post 5G rollout, Staying on 4G is not an option. Higher incremental revenue from consumers is not what 5G is all about. The impact will go much beyond the telco sector to -Energy, Manufacturing (IoT), Public Safety and Infra, Automotive, Media. 3 “families” of use cases and applications: Massive machine-type communications; critical machine-type communications; and enhanced mobile broadband for mass mobile connectivity

Where are We Going?

China is already planning 6G and it will be 100 times faster than 5G

SCMC

1. China is leading the 5G race: Country-wise China is leading the 5G rollout race followed by South Koras and the USA. China officially kicked off the commercialization of 5G services on Oct 31st, 2019, with the nation’s big three telecom operators China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom rolling out their 5G data plans. The move meant consumers can now pay to access superfast 5G speeds as more than 86,000 5G base stations have already entered service in China, covering 50 cities nationwide. Now in 2020, most of the big players are preparing for the phase 2 deployment of 5G. China Mobile completed the first phase of the implementation covering 50 cities and is now targeting installing a total of 300,000 sites across the country by end-2020.
2. 5G has launched on all four major US carriers: Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile in selective locations. However, the breadth of 5G coverage in the US still lags that of South Korea and China.
3. 5G applications will enhance cross-industry collaborations- Over the last few decades, we have seen a Tsunami of data and content due to the availability of the internet, handsets, cheap storage, and high download speeds. Now with the advent of 5G, the download speed may go up by as much as 100 times the 4G speed. 5G is going to revolutionize every aspect of consumer-tech as well as industrial internet.

5G will be a game-changer for many industries

5G release will speed up tech advancements in the following industries and sectors:

1. Remote working and AR/VR-Remote working and AR/VR- COVID 2019 made working from home the new normal. Zoom and Microsoft Teams calls are part of our daily work life now. Yet, humans miss the need to connect at a personal level with co-workers. 5G can solve that problem by projecting AR/VR/ holographic avatars of people around the world at one common place with minimal latency.
2. Edge computing powered by 5G: Smart Edge IoT will digitize the supply chain and logistics and delivery across multiple industries. The demand can be anticipated by e-commerce companies' AI engines in advance and goods can be moved on a real-time basis. The sensors on the goods enable the company to track the location of the shipment.
3. Manufacturing and digital Twin: Industry 4.0 — industrial IoT and increased automation will only be possible once 5G is commonly available within the furthest factories.
4. Connected cars, autonomous and self-driving vehicles- V2V (vehicle to vehicle), Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I) data will be available once the cars have been powered by 5G sensors.
5. Smart Cities, Information will be available on a real-time basis related to public transport services, air, road, and rail traffic, infrastructure grid issues, and logistics in the city.
6. Energy, and Utility sector: Energy scores and carbon credits can be measured at the lowest unit levels thanks to 5G enabled IoT and data on the edge computing. Oil and Gas rigs will be fully automated and supply could be measured on a real-time basis.
7. Connected Healthcare — Robotics and remote surgery, wearable telemetry, transmission of HD images, and Blockchain use cases in healthcare will see the light of the day.
8. Smart Home ecosystems- Every device in the home will be connected with the other and consume minimal WiFI bandwidth. The sensors can provide security solutions and convert every traditional room into a- smart bedroom, smart kitchen.
9. Gaming and OTT entertainment industry — Greater engagement due to high-speeds and superior user experience for the retail consumers.

Future Transformation Roadmap: Top Imperatives for the CXO’s

1. Do you have the best partnership strategy in place by industry and know the key B2B partners with whom exclusive agreements may help?
2. Telecom companies must prepare to get the 5G spectrum licenses and immediately start the preparation for the 5G rollout across the networks.
3. How do you plan to partner with the 5G infrastructure companies that can build the requisite capacity and network infrastructure?
4. Re-evaluate your pricing and network-sharing partnerships with other 5G ready telecom companies to optimize revenues and costs?
5. Develop B2B sales channels to engage potential clients across manufacturing, automobile, and other enterprise connectivity offerings.
6. Do due diligence of the B2C market 5G plans roll out and the regulations. The B2C market customer revenues from 5G will be less as they are using it for entertainment and communication only.

Sidhartha Sharma

Digital Strategy and Platform expert

Views are personal