5G Industry Insights
5G is the fifth-generation digital cellular network technology that boasts of high connection speeds of 10Gbps, low latency of 1 millisecond, and the potential to enhance digitalization of everyday life through the commercialization of Internet of Things (IoT), bringing more ubiquity and mobility to power the IoT ecosystem. In terms of technical specifications, 5G technology is said to be driven by the following 8 requirements:
- Up to 10Gbps data rate — a 10 to 100x improvement from 4G technology
- 1-millisecond latency
- 1000x bandwidth per unit area
- Up to 100x number of connected devices per unit area compared to 4G
- 99.999% availability
- 100% coverage
- 90% reduction in network energy usage
- Up to 10-year battery life for low power IoT devices
With the implementation of 5G technology, IoT and critical communications applications such as autonomous driving, augmented and virtual reality, and tactile internet will be able to reap benefits from the improvements in speed and latency. For consumers, faster mobile connections will subsequently allow for smoother streaming and uploading of media, as well as more device connections with fewer delays.
The 5G rollout in the USA is still in its infancy stages with Verizon and AT&T taking the lead to launch their 5G ultra wide-band network in April earlier this year. Other carriers like T-Mobile, Sprint, and Starry are hot on their heels to launch 5G in different regions. The availability of 5G phones is also constrained to a limited number of models as of current.
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The Potential of 5G
Interest in 5G is constantly increasing on a global scale, creating fierce competition amongst telecoms domestically and internationally. As of August 2019, the Global Mobile Suppliers Association has reported that 56 operators in 32 countries have announced the deployment of 5G within their live networks. With telecom operators aggressively rolling out the 5G network, it comes as no surprise that the number of 5G subscribers worldwide is expected to exceed 10 million by the end of this year, and reach 1.9 billion by 2024 as forecasted by the Ericsson Mobility Report released in June 2019.
Through lower latency and hyper connectivity, significant implications of 5G will soon be seen in enabling cutting-edge innovations in areas including smart factory, telemedicine, unmanned delivery, cloud, and streaming, through the implementation of key technologies of the 4th industrial revolution, such as virtual reality (VR), self-driving, IoT, artificial intelligence (AI), and big data. Regarded as the driving force behind AI, 5G technology is expected to lead a paradigm shift across all sectors during the 4th industrial revolution and make remarkable changes not only in industry but also in society.
Market Performance
The global 5G technology market was previously valued at USD 33.67 billion in 2017 and has since been forecasted by ResearchAndMarkets.com to reach USD 3482.89 billion by 2026 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 67.44% during the forecast period. The major factors driving market growth include exponential demand for high internet speeds and broadband services over mobile networks.
Investments in 5G
GSMA Intelligence forecasts up to USD 1 trillion in investments from operators between 2018 and 2025, much of it as back-loaded. As 5G pioneers, both the US and China are expected to invest a total of USD165 billion in 5G networks between 2019 and 2021. On the global front, Deloitte also paints a similar picture in predicting global investment into the 5G industrial chain to reach USD3.5 trillion between 2020 and 2035. Global industry applications driven by 5G technology are consequently expected to generate up to USD 12 trillion in sales.
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