According to the Ericsson Mobility Report Business Review 2024, communications service providers (CSPs) worldwide are currently offering or exploring services and go-to-market models to different levels of engagement and maturity across four areas. These are enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), fixed wireless access (FWA), differentiated connectivity solution opportunities, and innovation.
As per the report, eMBB is a superior and more efficient version of 4G mobile broadband, while FWA and wireless wide area network (WAN) target the residential broadband and enterprise segments offering value pools for service providers with higher average revenue per user (ARPU) compared to traditional mobile broadband services. Differentiated connectivity solutions include opportunities such as private networks for enterprises or utilising network slicing capabilities of public 5G standalone (SA) networks to offer a differentiated service to consumers or enterprises. Driving innovation and ecosystem growth comprises programmable networks/application programming interfaces (APIs) that offer the potential to access new value opportunities, allowing application developers to innovate on a large scale.
In addition to the business potential of eMBB for CSPs already offering the service, the report documents the growing success of FWA as a means of facilitating broadband to the home in markets such as the US. The report also addresses the central role 5G can play in accelerating industry productivity. A 5G logistics case study reported a 20 per cent improvement in productivity and 15 per cent lower capex compared with Wi-Fi.
Further, the report notes that 5G private networks are now being deployed at scale for digitalization programs pursued by enterprises. An Ericsson survey of private networks across 15 countries and 10 industries shows the main early use cases to be connected workers, autonomous equipment and sensors. The report also documents how CSPs are addressing the potential of network APIs and programmable networks in their business growth strategies.
Commenting on the report, Fredrik Jejdling, executive vice president and head of networks, Ericsson, said, “The first step of the 5G value journey has been taken, but it is still in the early stages. Looking back, we can see how the deployment of 4G, together with a global device ecosystem, laid the foundation for the app economy, enabling today’s mobile broadband business. Leveraging the evolving capabilities of 5G networks to create new value pools will be essential for service providers to reach profitable growth.”
