5G Inside

Mobile Service Providers have spent billions of dollars investing in 5G across many countries, but its rollout has been a lot slower than expected. This may be due to global issues such as the pandemic, high infrastructure costs, and economic downturns.

With its expensive rollout, how are MSPs (Mobile Service Providers) expected to make a ROI (Return on Investment)? Figure 1 outlines the four domains that support 5G ROI.

Revenue Generating Streams

One of the most significant ROI drivers is tapping into as many market verticals as possible:

Although this is one of the main focuses of ROI for 5G, widespread adoption requires time, which may be longer than expected. MSPs need to consider factors such as consumer readiness and industry-specific challenges.

One additional problem is that the majority of 5G Networks are currently NSA (Non-Standalone), meaning they can’t support some of the underlying technologies that allow 5G to target the aforementioned key market verticals.

Additional Domains for 5G ROI

If you want to explore in more detail the domains of 5G ROI outlined at the beginning of this blog, please feel free to check our video. To learn more about 5G technology, check out our Introduction to 5G course.

Conclusion

5G ROI is nuanced and uncertain. The true value of 5G will depend not only on its technical capabilities but also on how willingly key market verticals embrace and integrate it. Currently, we see a lack of willingness and interest in 5G and its capabilities. Will this change? Has 5G been created for use cases that aren’t currently required? Only time will tell.