Operators and service providers’ lucrative 5G first-mover opportunity

The next generation of mobile connectivity is rapidly bringing Industry 4.0, Internet of Things technology, smart city and a more connected world to consumers’ fingertips. While these new capabilities will enable mobile network operators to differentiate their services with high performance applications and wireline operators to deliver differentiated backhaul transport services, providers will need to act quickly in order to capitalize on the opportunity.

5G is already the fastest-growing mobile technology, with 225 million new 5G subscribers between Q3 2019 and Q3 2020, including a 66% growth in the final quarter of that period alone, according to Omdia research. 5G-enabled devices are also coming to prominence, with Ericsson revealing that 69% of leading service providers had launched commercial 5G smartphones by November 2020.