5G Trends and Expected Impact on Enterprises

5g trends and benefits

5G is the latest generation technology standard for cellular networks and is the planned successor to the existing 4G networks. Many U.S.-based cellular providers have been deploying the infrastructure needed in 2019 and will continue to expand their coverage in the future.

5G offers many tangible benefits over 4G LTE, such as:

• Increased speed: 100 times faster than LTE
• Latency and reliability: Latency reduction from 20 ms to <1 ms with 99.999% reliability
• Bandwidth: 100-fold increase of supported devices to 1 million devices/km2
• Energy efficiency: Power consumption reduced by 90%

Note: Not all performance dimensions can be maximized at the same time. There are trade-offs between speed, range, energy efficiency, and latency.

Forecast 5G IoT unit sales, distinctive use cases in 2030

McKinsey predicts that by 2030, the majority of use cases enabled by B2B applications of 5G will involve “Industry 4.0” followed by Smart/Connected segments.

5G will also open up additional opportunities for enterprises: 

• 5G architecture will rely on “network slicing,” which is the ability for operators to dedicate portions of their networks for specific use cases such as smart home, IoT, connected cars, etc. With network slicing, enterprises can achieve greater control, agility, management, and security of their solutions.
• The influx of low latency data through 5G will also provide more opportunities to analyze and respond to events through the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). This will enable faster response in a variety of use cases including supply chain automation, fast response cybersecurity, hyper personalized marketing, etc.

While 5G is an enabling technology that may not generate value on its own alone, according to IHS, 5G-enabled technologies (such as industrial IOT, etc.) are expected to generate more than $5T in global economic output by 2035, led by manufacturing ($3,364B), followed by construction ($742B), and logistics ($659B).

Within manufacturing specifically, deploying dedicated 5G solutions can enable a number of use cases that can generate operational cost savings ROI of 10x to 20x over five years according to ABI Research. While there will be significant benefits to enterprises and the economy, developing and deploying 5G-enabled solutions comes with substantial cost and complexity.

Most of the 5G use cases will incorporate large amounts of data being transferred (5G), processed (AI/ML), and secured in real-time across public and private networks and decentralized IoT/edge devices. Today, the number one challenge for manufacturing companies is the lack of resources or knowledge to scale such solutions, according to McKinsey’s global manufacturing survey.

With more than 14 years of expertise, GTA has the expertise to consult, build, and operate 5G networks and the key enabling technologies including IoT, industrial automation, and analytics.

References: McKinsey & Co: The 5G era - New horizons for advanced electronics and industrial companies The Fast Mode, Three Trends Driving 5G for the Enterprise in 2020 IHS, The 5G economy: How 5G technology will contribute to the global economy ABI Research, Smart Manufacturing and How to Get Started