An industry digitalisation report from Ericsson showing how to unlock the revenue potential of 5G telecoms networks has revealed that enhanced video services form the second largest of nine use-case clusters for the new telecoms infrastructure.
Ericsson examined more than 400 industry digitalisation use cases across ten industries: energy & utilities; manufacturing; public safety; healthcare; public transport; media and entertainment; automotive; financial services; retail; and agriculture. Of the 400 use cases, over 200 are where 5G is expected to play a vital role. These were grouped into clusters to boost revenue opportunities and overcome deployment challenges.The guide for operators on how to maximise revenue opportunities found that nearly three-quarters of respondents in the 5G industry impact report say they target first-mover advantages as their most strategic objective, with industries' fundamental focus on 5G shifting from viewing it as a disruptive technology to now embracing it as a central part of their strategy. The report predicts that trials of 5G use cases will start in 2018, after which activities will ramp up quickly, with over 70% of companies aiming to have use cases in production by 2021.
The report calculated that digitalisation revenues for ICT players between 2016 and 2026 are set to grow by 13.6% annually, while current operator service revenue growth is forecast at 1.5%. It says that as 5G becomes increasingly vital to industries, there will be a rise in the opportunity for new 5G-enabled revenues for operators. Of the total 5G-enabled value in 2026, Ericsson believes that up to 47% is addressable by operators who, through the evolution of use cases and clusters, can already begin to maximise the possibilities of 5G to capture their full business potential. Enhanced video services are said to have a revenue potential of $96 billion by 2026.
Commenting on the 5G Business Potential report,Thomas Noren, head of 5G commercialisation at Ericsson, said: "Our case studies have shown that operators employ strategic and operational activities to address challenges facing the success of their offerings. Even though they're not yet 5G offerings, these activities - such as go-to-market channels and trial and experimentation - will be equally important, if not more, when evolved towards 5G."
