With 5G services beginning to emerge and more deployments planned for 2019, what are the expectations for the 5G market?
Here are five recent 5G market predictions, on aspects ranging from 5G services to the role of self-organizing networks in 5G.
-Analyst firm CCS Insights recently raised its predictions for the global 5G market, based on the fact that numerous operators around the world were bringing services to market more quickly than they had originally indicated. CCS estimates that global 5G connections will hit 340 million in 2021 and pass the 1 billion mark in the first half of 2023. By 2025, the firm says 5G connections will number 2.7 billion, or more than one out of every five connections in the world.
“The intentions of major U.S. carriers to launch 5G in late 2018 have been clear for a while. But recently we’ve seen greater urgency to deploy networks from providers in Europe, the Middle East and China,” said Kester Mann, principal analyst at CCS Insight, in a statement. “While Europe may still be around a year adrift of the leading markets in 5G, some regional operators are clearly determined to launch commercial services as soon as next year.”
-GSMA Intelligence anticipates that the US will have “one of the fastest customer migrations to 5G in the world,” with 5G mobile connections reaching 100 million in early 2023 and more than 190 million by 2025 — numbers that don’t include 5G-based fixed wireless access, such as the service that Verizon plans to launch in October.
– SNS Telecom & IT says that 5G is one of the primary driver for self-organizing networks. In a new report, the firm said that SON adoption is being driven by the complexity of modern networks. SNS said that SON “has brought about a host of practical benefits for early adopters – ranging from more than a 50% decline in dropped calls and reduction in network congestion during special events by a staggering 80% to opex savings of more than 30% and an increase in service revenue by 5-10%.” The firm also said that SON capabilities “are playing a pivotal role in accelerating the adoption of 5G networks – through the enablement of advanced capabilities such as network slicing, dynamic spectrum management, predictive resource allocation, and the automated of deployment of virtualized 5G network functions.” SNS Telecom & IT expects SON investments to rise at a compound annual growth rate of 11% between 2019 to 2022, for a market value of $5.5 billion by the end of the forecast period.
-China is rapidly moving toward 5G deployments. Ernst & Young anticipates that the number of 5G connection in China will reach 576 million by 2025, accounting for more than 40% of the global total.
“Asia has been spearheading the 5G development, showcasing the technology in major sporting events like the Winter Olympics hosted in the region,” EY concluded in a report on China’s position in the 5G market. “Among them, China is probably the most committed across all levels. After missing the opportunities in the 3G and 4G era, China has been determined to make 5G a top priority on its national agenda.”
-A report on the global 5G services market estimates that market will reach $123.27 billion by 2025, growing at 18% between 2020-2025. Primary drivers include demand for reliable and ultra-low latency connectivity service and the use of the internet of things, as well as a continued increase in data traffic. The largest 5G service segment through 2025 is expected to be broadband services, included fixed wireless access; North America is expected to have the highest compound annual growth rate.
