In this blog, Angus Ward, CEO, Beyond Now, talks to Light Reading about the highly anticipated arrival of 5G, and what a delay would really mean for Communications Service Providers (CSPs).
While a 5G delay is touted as bad for consumers, in reality it’s primarily a play in the enterprise market. This is where an estimated two-thirds of market demand will be.
With most operators not ready to sell 5G services to their enterprise customers, at the same time, many enterprises are not ready to buy 5G services, with the new use cases demanding 5G's low latency and super speeds not yet created. And while the release of 4G was highly anticipated following the disappointment of 3G, the launch of 5G will be very different, and not boast the instant demand that 4G did. Most consumer use cases that need 5G are several years away from being perfected. And 5G networks are a lot more expensive.
To capitalize on 5G, a new business model is required – CSPs will need to focus on the enterprise market and be willing to either develop the new use cases themselves or collaborate with enterprise customers to create them. CSPs can use existing network assets – 4G for now and 5G in the future – to build ecosystems and work with enterprise customers on vertical-specific offerings. But obstacles in building and supporting an ecosystem are plentiful. The ability to work in an agile and experimental way around a digital business platform with partners is the way forward. CSPs need to change their mindsets, build partner ecosystems and reinvent their business models, before a new generation of 5G competitors is upon them.
