Global revenue from 5G services will reach $73 billion by the end of 2021 against $20 billion last year, a report from Juniper Research said.
This represents a growth of 250 percent. It predicts that 5G will represent 8.5 percent of operator revenue by the end of this year, as operators seek a return on their significant investment into the technology.
Operators need to focus efforts on virtualising core network functions to cut the network strain arising from the increase in data traffic from 5G adoption. Operators will face challenges in meeting the mobile data demands arising from 5G networks. Cellular data generated by 5G connections will rise to 1.5 million Petabytes by 2026; representing 214 million hours of 4K video streaming.
Operators’ 5G service revenue will increase to over $600 billion by 2026. The data capabilities of 5G standards will drive adoption in areas such as mobile gaming and immersive reality, which will proliferate as coverage and device support increase over the next 5 years, to which operators must prepare networks for.
“Given the varying requirements of these 5G use cases, network orchestration tools that enable the real-time management of network performance are key to providing a service that meets the demand of 5G subscribers and enable operators to fully maximise 5G service revenue,” Report author Dave Bowie said.
Over 80 percent of 5G data generated will be attributable to mobile broadband connections. Operators need to increase network virtualisation and network orchestration, and accelerate roll-outs of fibre backhaul infrastructure that can handle high data generation, to reduce the threat of traffic congestion over 5G mobile broadband services.
