5G for a hyper connected world

Even though 5G won’t arrive until at least 2020, the race is on and is set to gain steam. The next big thing in ‘connectedness’ along with IOT, Digital Transformation, 4G, Connected Cars, Smart Homes and Sensor Technology is 5G. In fact, it is a foundational uplift set to enable all the technologies mentioned earlier in some way or the other. 5G is expected to offer speeds up to 10,000 MBPS (Source: Phonearena) that will truly revolutionize the way we connect and communicate not only with humans but with machines as well. According to Gartner estimates there will be 20.8 billion devices by the end of 2020. With internet penetration increasing at a tremendous pace even telcos have high stakes involved in launching 5G services. In a nutshell, it promises to offer – speed, efficiency and reduced latency that will be essential to support future technologies. Since CSPs would invest heavily to bring 5G technology they would also want to reap the benefits it has to offer. Below are few invaluable monetization opportunities to harp on: Monetization Opportunities HD Video: With the launch of 4G services, we have witnessed that Video Content drives Data Consumption, and this is set to increase with 5G at least by 10 X. According to Cisco® Visual Networking Index (VNI) Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast, over three-fourths (78 percent) of the world’s mobile data traffic will be video by 2021. With 5G in place, users will have access to high-definition video which can be downloaded in few seconds instead of minutes. Moreover, it would offer Zero Lag Time and Buffering. New Content Services: CSPs can partner with data intensive OTT Apps for monetization or by charging them for network access. They can also generate revenue from advertising by offering location-based services that can deliver rich multimedia venue specific content to the users in retail stores, events, sports arena or concert auditorium etc. Virtualized Immersive experience: The way we experience Movies, TV, Video Games is set to change with 5G. It will pave the way for technologies like augmented reality, virtual reality and transform our visual experience and offer us an opportunity to see the world in a different dimension all together. 5G: Wi-Fi Interworking: We are already aware of the speeds that 5G has to offer, however, 5G packs would be quite expensive initially and many users will not possess 5G compatible devices, keeping new subscribers at bay. These challenges compel operators to find out alternatives such as 5G – Wi-Fi interworking; where operators seamlessly offload their 5G/LTE driven subscriber data requirement on to a Wi-Fi Access points and still leverage on their existing infrastructure. IoT: 5G will be a catalyst to the IoT/M2M segments, where sensor technology would take the center stage as an overlay over faster networks. We would be able to experience a new world unlike anything we’ve seen before. We will see rise in Driverless Cars which will not only offer comfort and convenience but will also result into fewer accidents, Smart Homes that can take care of their own maintenance or keep track of the food in your fridge and order more as needed, it will also aid doctors to carry out Remote Surgery from any part of the world etc. Multi-person video conferencing: Video Conferencing is quite popular however seamless multi-party video conference was a distant dream before 4G. With 5G in place multi-party video conference, which requires lower latency, is set to be a reality. Only time will tell when exactly 5G deployments will see the light of the day, however, they will bring with them a lot of positives and new opportunities. The onus is on the CSPs to smartly monetize and gain in this rapid fire technology domain.