Jola Cloud Solutions' Blog

EE

You may have read that EE launched the UK's first next-generation 5G mobile network, with a concert by Stormzy, live-streamed from a boat on the River Thames.

5G is promising to deliver a better mobile experience, delivering faster internet speeds and a more reliable data connection in busy places. EE is promoting a near-instant connection when opening apps and websites, playing games or connecting to smart home devices.5G is available on EE with 5G handsets in limited areas of Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, London and Manchester.

Vodafone

Vodafone is planning to switch on its 5G network for both consumers and direct business customers in seven cities across the UK in July 2019. Vodafone will also offer 5G roaming in the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain over the summer. Vodafone is pricing 5G the same as 4G and has four 5G smartphone models, with a home router due to launch shortly.

Three

Three announced that it will be switching on its 5G network in August. Three’s 5G network will initially be launched as a home broadband service in London, and then rolled out to the following places before the end of the year:

London, Birmingham, Bolton, Bradford, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Coventry, Derby, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Reading, Rotherham, Sheffield, Slough, Sunderland and Wolverhampton.

Experts like McKinsey are suggesting 5G will have the most impact in four key areas; mobile broadband, IoT, mission-critical control and fixed wireless access.

Enhanced mobile broadband

Faster speed, lower latency, and greater capacity could enable on-the-go, ultra-high-definition video, virtual reality, and other advanced applications.

Internet of Things

5G will unlock the potential of IoT by enabling more connections at once at very low power. This could create additional monthly revenues, but average IoT revenues will be a fraction of those for mobile broadband because of low usage.

Mission-critical control

As connected devices become increasingly central in applications that demand absolute reliability, like medical devices and vehicle safety systems, latency will serve as a limiting factor. Because 5G has the potential to deliver significantly lower latency, it opens the door to opportunities in healthcare, utilities, and other time-critical contexts.

Fixed wireless access

Fixed wireless access has existed for years, primarily in areas with no viable wired broadband. 5G is capable of delivering speeds of more than 1Gb/s to the home, making it a viable alternative to wired broadband in many markets, especially in markets without fibre.

According to a recent IDC survey, nearly 80% of Communications Providers expect 5G to generate more revenue opportunities. And 35% say they would be able to grow revenue by 5-10% within the first two years.

What are the likely opportunities?

European operators expect early 5G deployments to enhance existing services, such as unified communications as a service (UCaaS) and software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN).

There is an opportunity for Communications Providers to replace fixed line communications with mobile services. Once 5G is deployed it is predicted to make operational savings of over 10%.

Key sectors to target are healthcare, government and public sector services as well as automotive and manufacturing industries.

How important will choosing the right supplier be?

Choosing the right supplier will be critical to ensure Communications Providers win business in these sectors. Choose a partner who has a wide range of wholesale 5G services, managed within self-service portals, to retain control of 5G assets and monitor and manage data usage. Partners with experience delivering solutions to key vertical markets with a competitive 5G proposition will succeed.

GSMA published their latest mobile report at the MWC19 this week. According to the report, by the end of 2018, 5.1 billion people around the world subscribed to mobile services, accounting for 67% of the global population.

5G

The report described how 5G is now upon us, bringing with it the promise of a host of exciting new services. As the boundaries between mobile and the wider digital ecosystem continue to blur, and as data monetisation poses a continued challenge, many operators are moving beyond their traditional telco businesses to explore new opportunities in a fast-changing competitive landscape.

IoT

The report predicts that between 2018 and 2025, the number of global IoT connections will triple to 25 billion, while global IoT revenue will quadruple to £0.83 trillion. With connectivity becoming increasingly commoditised, mobile operators are looking to expand their role in the value chain – from providing essential tools and capabilities for ecosystem partners to build IoT solutions, to becoming end-to-end IoT solution providers themselves.

Devices

The report suggests that although smartphones will remain the focal point of the consumer internet economy, the range of connected devices (and therefore internet access channels) is greater than ever. In the most advanced countries, today’s digital consumers (using PCs and smartphones) will likely become tomorrow’s augmented customers, adopting emerging technologies such as AI (via smart speakers) and immersive reality.

How will your customers benefit from 5G?

5G is short for ‘fifth generation mobile networks.’ It will be a constantly developing network of networks encompassing a far broader array of devices than mobile phones.

Faster Speeds 

5G is set to be much faster than 4G, some are saying as much as 100 times faster. The increased speed will benefit your business customers in lots of ways. Businesses could use 5G instead of a fixed line broadband circuit and use cloud-based applications with ease, in the office and remotely. You could add 5G to your connectivity portfolio and send out pre-configured 5G routers.

Lower Latency 

5G will also have much lower latency. We will see much less delay on AI and VR devices for example. 5G will make using mobile data even more attractive, opening up new revenue streams for partners and better solutions for end users.

Greater Capacity 

5G will need to have greater capacity in the backbone networks so that the networks will be able to cope better with many high-demand applications all at once. Businesses will benefit from new products and services not yet invented, creating new potential revenue streams for you.

Reliability 

5G is expected to be ‘ultra-reliable’, meaning no dropped calls or connectivity, which will power more ‘critical’ devices, in healthcare and transport. Partners could create their own IoT/M2M solutions designed specifically to meet the needs of their customers, with the help of specialist 5G SIM suppliers with excellent management portals.

5G is Fifth Generation Mobile Networks. It is set to be much faster than 4G and could open up new uses for mobile data, creating an exciting new opportunity for the channel. In the UK, 5G is due to start rolling out in 2020, however we may not see widespread 5G until 2022.

What benefits will it bring?

Speed

5G is set to be as much as 100 times faster than 4G. We can expect to see speeds in excess of 1Gb/s with many estimating speeds of 10Gb/s.

Lower Latency

With lower latency, users will see little or no delay, which creates opportunities in industries, such as the car industry, who require no latency to connect their devices. Because it is set to be such a revolutionary technology, it is likely to be used to create services and applications we haven’t yet imagined, capturing the interest of the channel.

Greater capacity

With greater capacity, many high-demand applications can be managed simultaneously. This should provide a fast, stable connection in any device, in any location. 5G will support a wide range of services from HD video streaming, to monitoring devices in every industry.

Efficient, money saver

In the channel we hear a lot of noise about IoT and struggle to see how we will ever make money from smart fridges and electric autonomous vehicles yet are seeing mobile data opportunities for 4G. Blue light services are rolling out SIMs in push-to-talk radios. Couriers are using data SIMs in PDAs. Hauliers are using SIMs in CCTV cameras and security and tracking devices. Companies in both the public and the private sector are using data SIMs in CCTV cameras. Supermarkets are using 4G as a back-up solution and to power POS kiosks and digital bill boards etc.