PARTNER FEATURE: The first Wireless Intelligence Summit was held successfully on the sidelines of the 10th Global Mobile Broadband Forum. At this event, Boston Consulting Group, UBS Group, L.E.K., GSMAi, Hatch Cloud Gaming, Telefonica entrepreneurial incubator Wayra, Remagine Ventures, as well as other leading global consulting and investment firms gathered to share their views on the 5G industry and investment.

Agreed that 5G’s commercial adoption is accelerating, and with it, opportunities for investment. The first wave of 5G investment resulted in 5G has resulted in revenue growth. Building ubiquitous 5G network is vital for a Return on 5G Investment.

Kevin Zhang, Chief Marketing Officer of Huawei’s ICT Infrastructure, pointed out: “Connectivity is the foundation for building a fully connected, intelligent world. The innovation in mobile network technologies enables operators to make breakthroughs in various business domains. 5G is an innovation that expands connections from people to things, from single connection to hybrid connection, and from individuals to families and industries. Broadly deployed 4G networks, mature 5G ecosystems, favorable support from governments, and current transmission strategies are all driving forces behind rapid 5G deployment. 5G is set to transform industries and change societies. Let’s accelerate 5G development into a bright colorful future for all.”

“Differentiated eMBB offers boosting ARPU. FWA is a tool in the box, and FWA is one near and medium term revenue opportunity in addition to eMBB. B2B beyond connectivity should be considered as a diversification of the business”, said Rüdiger Schicht, a senior partner from Boston Consulting, in his keynote speech.

5G deployment and number provisioning have been carried out in many countries in Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East. Experience from the first wave of 5G investment revealed vital factors affecting 5G deployment. Regulatory authority plays a critical role in accelerating 5G development, issuing 5G licenses at an early date and introducing favorable policy and support.

As most operators choose NSA to deploy 5G, large-scale 4G networks will facilitate quick installation and continuous coverage of 5G. A mature 5G ecosystem is also important as it means joint guarantee for 5G commercial adoption among standards organizations, chip vendors, terminal manufacturers, system equipment vendors, operators, and partners. However, none of this can have an impact unless we first put transmission in to place.

“Building 5G networks that ensure ubiquitous, continuous coverage is the foundation for ensuring return on 5G investment.” Speakers in the panel discussion agreed, “5G networks must be deployed firstly to solve the capacity issue and drive the shift from ultra-fast experience to industrial digitalization. 5G must be embraced by the applications that are visible in the short term to promote digital transformation and improve efficiency in these industries. Operators must act as quickly as possible to pursue positive 5G investment at an approximate pace to deliver benefits to all parties.”

A report on global 5G market outlook and investment opportunity, released by CCS Insight, concluded that 5G development is accelerating, many investments hotspots are emerging, and the first-wave 5G markets have resulted in revenue growth. Investing in ubiquitous 5G networks is essential to develop new services. 5G networks must ensure improved performance, higher efficiency, smarter management, and end-to-end experience assurance to stay competitive. These features will accelerate users to migrate to 5G, increase the average per-user revenue, and speed up ROI.

Ritchie Peng, Chief Marketing Officer of Huawei’s Wireless Solution, said: “5G development is accelerating and 5G is arriving much faster than 4G. 64T64R Massive MIMO and other key 5G innovative technologies have matured and are promoting 5G’s rapid commercial adoption. In 2019, more than 60 commercial networks will be deployed around the world. Huawei has launched 129 commercial terminals of various types, including smart terminals that support 5G standalone (SA) networking. Our newest release of VR glasses indicates that VR terminals are mature. In terms of applications, MBB-centered AR/VR as well as FWA that replaces home broadband is entering large-scale adoption.”

“Our customers are benefiting from a 10x faster Internet connection with 5G. Sunrise’s initial focus is 5G for People. It’s like fiber optics through the air. We have launched a world first with the Sunrise Internet Box 5G. For the first time it’s possible to combine Internet, TV and landline for homes and businesses, all via 5G.” said Olaf Swantee, Sunrise’s CEO.

Fotis Karonis, Chief Technology and Information Officer (CTIO) of British Telecom Enterprise, said: “5G has accelerated in Europe much faster than we would have ever imagined. The move to standalone 5G is a great opportunity to enable 5G to realize its vast potential. We’re not standing still; we’re really going for it. There’s loads we can do; it’s a very exciting time.”

“5G is going really well and we are exactly on track with what we had hoped to deploy. I’m really optimistic that Europe can get back to tech leadership in 5G. It’s really good to see everyone taking such a positive approach.” said Scott Petty, CTO of Vodafone UK.

“We’re entering one of the most exciting periods I’ve seen in mobile for many years.” said CCS Insight CEO Shaun Collins. “After much hype, 5G is a now a reality and we expect to see faster initial adoption than in any previous generation of mobile. There are now live 5G networks in more than 20 countries and the industry’s strong recent momentum shows little sign of slowing down. Customers are enjoying blazingly fast speeds, while network operators are benefiting from far greater efficiency of data transmission. This will pave the way for a host of new applications and services that are set to disrupt and transform many industries.”