The industry is wondering how to capitalize on the value of 5G beyond upload speeds and faster data downloads.
The discussion about the market of 5G was full of discussion in the Mobile World Congress which concluded in Barcelona last year. But for the executives gathered at the world’s most influential exhibition for the connectivity industry, much of the talk was about how to move beyond the rollout phase to create new business opportunities and start earning money for every participant involved.
“If you are going to change your handset, you are likely to buy a 5G smartphone, thereby getting a 5G subscription. There is automatic update for that. But there is also a need for higher speeds and some users who want to play gaming,” Patrick Servall, Head of Strategic Marketing, Business Area Networks, Ericsson told Indianexpress.com in an interview.
For Serval, 5G as a service provider There is a huge opportunity, operators in Europe, US, Japan, parts of the Middle East find new ways to increase their associated revenue. In India too, telecom companies are following the same path to capitalize on 5G subscriptions. “There is a new service innovation going on, but it depends on how you sell it,” Servall added.
He cited an example of how some operators in the respective countries offer cloud gaming as a service to their customers. This network slicing and guaranteed latency (the time it takes a computer to request data until it receives it) opens up new opportunities for users to charge for advanced packages.
5G or fifth generation mobile services are the next step in mobile internet connections offering much faster data download and upload speeds. Reliance Jio, Airtel have launched 5G services in India last year. Both the operators have promised to complete the 5G rollout across major Indian cities within the next few months. Airtel already has over 10 million 5G users in the country.
But building 5G networks will require more capital, so a bigger investment is required. 5G brings further improvements in network speed and the amount of data it can capture and process. It opens up income opportunities that were not available in 3G-4G era.
“Only after earning money through 5G, it is possible to recover the investments. they benefit users Only if it is made, it will be possible to charge for 5G,” said Avnish Prakash, Vice President, Mobility and IoT, Tata Communications. Prakash, who heads Movin, Tata Communications’ end-to-end mobility platform, said the potential of 5G holds benefits for users and its clients.
A major selling point of smartphones with 5G There will likely be connected cars. “आवर्क (car makers) need to save money. By doing this effectively, new income streams will be created. The entire paradigm of the automotive industry is shifting from ownership to subscription-based,” Prakash explained. “All OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) want to be participants in the service economy, not just focusing on revenue from selling cars.”
Connected cars are also another area of immediate benefits from usage and monetization, Prakash said. Think movies, music, gaming, sure over-the-air software updates, and car entertainment. “Cars turn into experience nodes and monetize them Will do,” said Prakash.
Conversations have moved beyond upload speed to faster download data, experts say. Instead, the industry is thinking about how to capitalize on the value of 5G. According to Prakash, 5G brings many sectors together and works jointly to solve problems that could not be solved earlier due to lack of right technology and directions. “This will lead to real benefits and marketability to the consumer”, especially in the automobile industry, says Prakash.
Now, talking about 5G from the perspective of a consumer. But actually getting money may be in the business (enterprise) sector. This will help to realistically measure the feasibility of 5G and raise money to expand networks. “5G’s revenue isn’t just the consumers, it’s the enterprise as well,” Servall said. Enterprise use cases of 5G range from productivity solutions to IT support and security features.
Looking at enterprises as part of the long-term plan, customers are driving the majority of 5G, at least for now Serwal said that it is business. Asked whether the enterprise segment has better prospects of extracting more money from customers in the long term, “it depends on pricing, and how operators actually decide to go to market,” Servall said.
There is also an opportunity to use 5G as a network for the innovation of private enterprises. But in terms of customer usage, it may take longer to achieve the expected growth. The smartphone market slowdown and traffic growth, which still play a major role in 5G subscription upgrades, may slow 5G’s prospects and penetration.
