EY sees operators as needing to reinvent to address enterprises’ needs and deliver the full sustainability benefits 5G can enable
Telcos sit in an interesting position as it relates to global sustainability efforts. Given the scale of many telecommunications networks, large operators are major energy consumers. Also due to scale, many of these operators are among the vanguard of publicly-traded firms emphasizing carbon neutral goals with attendant environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies. Another level here is that operators need to deliver 5G-enabled solutions to enterprises to drive growth, so that’s a major priority. As it relates to sustainability, 5G put into the hands of large enterprises could be used to broadly improve efficiencies that are themselves carbon emitting. To make sense of it all, RCR Wireless News spoke with EY Global 5G Industry and Emerging Tech Leader Fuad Siddiqui.
In February, EY published the findings of its Reimaging Industry Futures Study which looked at the “sustainability imperative,” and what emerging technologies enterprises are investing in to realize outcomes including outcomes involving ESG priorities. According to the study results, 5G and edge computing are up 4% year-over-year in terms of spending; 57% of firms polled plan to invest in 5G in the next three years with sustainability a key driver.
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Siddiqui focused his comments on “the larger value creation potential” 5G has. “First and foremost, as I look at the technology itself…the efficiency of 5G base stations is obviously much, much better compared to previous generations,” he said. So in addition to operators improving cost/GB, there’s the potential for new growth by passing on that, and other benefits, to enterprise users.
“I don’t want us to think about 5G as 5G,” he said. “Depending on who you talk to, they’d have a different interpretation of what 5G is,” which is more than a radio technology. He described a “cloud-integrated network” bolstered by a solution-focused ecosystem. “When people complain that they haven’t seen the real impact or the real monetization or the real use cases, it’s because we’re still operating in a bit of a silo.”
This raises the question: how can operators break down that silo, evolve their technology, business and operating models, and create new 5G-enabled value including as it relates to the sustainability piece?
“This is a complex area to navigate,” Siddiqui said as many operators are traditionally “consumer-centric.” The focus needs to move away from selling connectivity as a commodity to selling connectivity as part of a complete package tuned to a specific enterprise need. Telcos aren’t quite structured that way just yet, but “there are certain green shoots I’m seeing in the market…There’s work happening.” But, operators “must innovate quickly and deliver what the enterprises are looking for.”
