New research from Ericsson looks at the anticipated impact of 5G across a number of industries, canvassing the opinions of more than 650 executives globally, with a large majority of respondents intending to make significant changes to their businesses, taking advantage of 5G when it arrives.
The Ericsson report, “Opportunities in 5G: The view from eight industries”, found that 94 per cent of respondents rate next-generation mobile networks as being important to the strategic development of their business.
The automotive, utilities, public safety, high-tech manufacturing, internet/digital natives, healthcare, financial services and media/gaming industries are covered by the report.
“Responding to disruption from emerging technologies – such as M2M communications, broadband connectivity, cloud service and mobile – is a key driving force behind business innovation within the respondents’ companies and industries,” Ericsson states.
“A large majority indicated they intend to make significant changes to their businesses in order to take advantage of 5G when it arrives.”
Rima Qureshi, Ericsson head of region North America and chief strategy officer, noted that emerging technologies such as the IoT “are becoming integral parts of our economy and lifestyle, and this is driving major change across industries”.
“5G will accelerate this transformation and create new uses, new revenue streams, and new business models for industries and consumers alike,” Qureshi commented.
“With 5G, industries will have connectivity that is customised for their requirements and the agility to move quickly to meet customer needs and be innovative.”
Among the various industries, Ericsson notes that in the automotive industry it is expected that “increased performance, increased security and device-to-device communications” will be the areas where 5G provides real business value.
“The connected car is the major trend in the auto industry, and while many are looking ahead to self-driving systems, enhanced GPS with instant traffic and map updates is the most favoured use for 5G globally,” Ericsson states.
Including online stores, social networks, digital organisation and collaboration tools, 96 per cent in the internet/digital natives industry confirmed they are investing to take advantage of 5G, with an enhanced customer experience expected to be the leading benefit.
In the media/gaming industry, Ericsson notes that “executives place the highest priority on delighting their audiences and holding their attention”.
“This includes providing new immersive experiences – such as ultra-HD 4K and virtual reality on mobile devices – using the higher capacity delivered through 5G networks,” Ericsson states.
“A significant majority highlighted live personal 360 view broadcasting and fixed wireless broadband as additional developments expected from 5G.”
