B2B is the ‘North Star’ for 5G revenues: how do CSPs get there?
2020: a new decade and the real beginning of the 5G era. At the start of the year 33 CSPs across 18 countries had launched commercial 5G services and another 77 operators will do so in 2020. As CSPs now double their rate of investment in 5G, they have to get real if they want to see RoI – swiftly moving from the ‘PR’ phase to introducing effective strategies to drive new revenues.
5G is different. When it comes to monetization, the GSMA predicts that 5G will become the first generation of mobile technology to have a bigger impact on businesses than on consumers1. Industry watchers agree. More importantly, so do many CSPs. But if B2B is the ‘North Star’ for 5G revenues, no one seems to have drawn a map for operators of how to get there. Indeed, there are more questions than answers surrounding the 5G B2B opportunity. What are the winning use cases? Which segment – SMB or enterprise – represents the biggest opportunity? How important are generic, horizontal offerings vs. specialized, vertical services? Will businesses buy from CSPs or will they look to other companies? What’s the role of the CSP in the 5G value chain?
To help CSPs navigate the 5G B2B journey, Beyond Now commissioned a large-scale primary research study to examine the real attitudes of both CSPs and business customers around the world towards 5G, and the potential role of the CSP in the 5G era. Conducted and analyzed in late-2019, research firm Coleman Parkes interviewed 250 technology decision makers from 100 enterprises and 150 SMB – in verticals such as manufacturing, financial services, retail, health, education, transportation and media – across Europe, Asia and North America. 90 senior executives within CSPs were also surveyed from these three regions.
