Even though a number of significant hurdles need to be overcome, a global boom in 5G investment – led by the US and Saudi Arabia – is imminent and will see 71% of companies invest in 5G over the next five years, research from Nokia and Nokia Bell Labs has revealed.
And the bottom line, said the 5G Business Readiness Report, is that if the projected growth is realised, by 2030 5G-enabled industries could add $8 trillion to global GDP. And despite the damage that the Covid-19 pandemic has wreaked across industries across the world since March, the report also showed the pandemic will likely further increase the value creation potential of 5G in the medium and long-term by accelerating digitisation, particularly among the least digitally advanced industries.
So-called 5G mature companies were found to be growing considerably faster than their peers. Just under half (49%) of companies in the expansion phase of 5G adoption and 37% of those in implementation phase – representing the two most advanced stages of 5G maturity – achieved rapid growth last year, compared with those firms in the planning (20%), discovery (11%) and passive phases (5%). These findings show, said Nokia, that the companies who are most 5G mature, and therefore likely also the most advanced in their overall digital transformation, were showing the highest impact in business performance.
Yet despite the clear advantages from 5G deployment, the 5G Business Readiness Report also noted that the gap between enterprise awareness of 5G’s benefits and current levels of adoption suggested there were notable barriers to implementation. Indeed, it showed that there were as many as five: ecosystem availability; education and understanding; awareness; cost and complexity; security. In a call to action, Nokia said that there were key catalysts for change in order to bring about improved understanding, confidence and ultimately adoption of 5G, namely: improved regulation, collaboration and willingness to innovate.
Looking at regional variations, the 5G Business Readiness Report found that in eight economies – Australia, Germany, Finland, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, the UK and the US – at least half of companies were at the midway level on 5G readiness, between initial planning, trials and deployment. This compared with to just 7% that are classed as 5G mature.
