Standardization and field trials related to “5G” technology are moving a break-neck pace. But, moving past the hype, there’s still uncertainty among operators and enterprises as to which services will help quickly return on the massive network infrastructure investment associated with the next generation of connectivity.
To help understand the business cases, Nokia identified key use cases and projected likely return on investment. For instance, the Finnish vendor found 5G to the home – a major focus of early carrier trials and seen as a way to solve the last mile problem with fiber to the home – “will break even after four years if the monthly average revenue per user remains above” about $43.
Nokia researchers further concluded that “events and hot spots, in locations such as stadiums, have a one-year payback period depending on the number of events held at the location, with at least five events per month required to ensure a profitable business case.”
The concept of an in-stadium experience complete with immersive virtual reality is another often-talked-about use case, which Nokia says can only be supported by the high throughput and low latency associated with 5G. In fact, researchers said the 40-times capacity boost compared with 4G makes 5G “the only commercially viable technology for the delivery of a true immersive VR video experience to massive numbers of subscribers in high-attendance venues.”
Nokia Head of the 5G Business Line Harold Graham said the new research will “help operators and enterprises understand the real value of 5G in relation to their particular business needs. Working closely with our customers we can help them evolve their business cases and provide clear recommendations for investments on their path to 5G.”
These findings are contained in two new white papers, focused respectively on real-world network scenarios and translating use cases to business cases, available here and here.
