There are currently 310 million 5G connections in the world, but intensive growth is expected by the end of 2021. Namely, Juniper consultants predict operators will accelerate investment into standalone 5G networks because they could bring new opportunities to generate revenue growth and boost profitability, especially through the monetization of data-intensive services, like remote healthcare and mobile gaming.
“Operators will try to maximize their return on 5G investment by providing revenue-increasing services and minimizing operational expenditure. Tools that can automate the orchestration of the network should be a priority as operators roll out standalone 5G networks, which will enable greater data throughput, which 5G subscribers should benefit from,” Sam Barker, lead analyst at Juniper Research, told 5Gradar.
However, the report predicts that revenues from smartphones will continue to fall. Thus, in the next five years, the monthly average revenue per 5G smartphone connection would be $17 globally, which is a significant drop from today’s $29, but this is a downtrend that operators have been facing for years. The study also points out that by 2026, most 5G network users will be located in the Asia Pacific region. As many as two billion connections, or 60 percent of global 5G connections, will be used in that part of the world, primarily thanks to the Chinese 5G network and strong development in the Middle East. Operators in China, Japan, and South Korea have already implemented lower subscription costs, which have accelerated 5G adoption and services as well as the purchase of 5G phones.
Another study shows that the 5G infrastructure market will be worth $47.7 billion by 2027, at a compound annual growth rate of around 67 percent. This enormous growth will be driven by lower latency, which is one of the main features of 5G, a new type of architecture in telecommunications, and growth in mobile data traffic. Apart from the users of telecommunication services, the growing adoption of 5G technology in the industry will have the greatest potential, so analysts point out that this segment is expected to drive the market growth in the coming years thanks to the potential of IoT and M2M communication technologies.
5G will play a key role in manufacturing, healthcare, defense, and space technology, as well as the automotive industry. The major players in the 5G infrastructure market are Chinese Huawei, Swedish Ericsson, Korean Samsung, Finnish Nokia, Chinese ZTE, Japanese NEC, American CISCO, and CommScope, and others. In the context of investing in Research and Development (R&D) Centers, the undisputed leader is Huawei. The company has 36 centers for innovation and 14 R&D Centers with a developed service network in 170 countries around the globe.
