78% of 50 operators surveyed in 5G trial phase
“Ready or not…5G is coming, and work has started to understand the disruptive change it will bring across industries and societies. Operators have begun to respond to the challenge with creativity by forging new strategies, investing in development and trials, and evaluating and adopting new use cases and business models. The survey highlights the need for a partner who can help operators identify and develop consumer, industry and enterprise use cases and expand service opportunities to grow revenue…A determined and well-conceived strategy for 5G is not an option today; it’s an imperative.”
That’s the conclusion of Ericsson’s “5G Readiness Survey 2017: An assessment of operator’s progress on the road to 5G,” published today and available for download here. The below inforgraphic breaks down survey respondents by job title and provides a comparison with the same metrics derived from the 2016 survey.
Image courtesy of Ericsson.
In addition to noting that of the 50 operator respondents survey, 78% report their firm has reached the trial stage of pre-standard 5G technologies. As to the technologies underpinning the in-progress 5G New Radio specification, key drivers include multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO), network security, virtualization of network functions, network slicing, integrated RAN/backhaul, network automation, mobile edge computing and beamforming.
In terms of vertical-specific opportunity, Ericsson calls out media and entertainment, automotive and public transportation, energy and utilities and health care as “the most attractive sectors for 5G applications.”
In a statement, Head of 5G Commercialization Thomas Noren analyzes the results as compared to the 2016 survey. At that time, “90% of the respondents pointed to consumers as the main segment in their 5G business planning,” he said. “This year, it is an even split between three segments and operators have identified business opportunities not only in the consumer segment but also with enterprise users and specialized industries.”
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