5G is the latest development in mobile technology and is expected to deliver faster speeds, better reliability and improved capacity. The mobile industry internationally has at large determined the technical specifications for these networks, and trials are underway across Australia. In addition to bringing improved mobile experiences for consumers, 5G is expected to have a wide range of commercial applications.
According to a recent Deloitte report, most Australian businesses recognise the potential benefits of 5G. In a new survey of over 550 business leaders, 78 per cent say that faster, more reliable mobile telecommunications would benefit their business.
Most say that the biggest benefit would be an increased ability to work remotely, have flexible hours and better customer engagement. Reinforcing these perceived benefits is the fact that nearly half of businesses say they would be willing to pay at least 10 per cent more than what they currently pay in order to have faster, more reliable mobile telecommunications.
Among other benefits, 5G will facilitate many emerging technologies – such as driverless cars, mobile payments, and remote monitoring and control. Around 80 per cent of businesses say they have already implemented at least one emerging technology in their business, or that they expect to in the next three years. This will contribute to significant growth in the digital economy in Australia, expected to be worth $140 billion by 2020.
Arthur D. Little (ADL) recently released its 5G Country Leadership Index which benchmarks over 40 countries. It identifies South Korea as the clear leader in 5G development, ahead of the United States. Other 5G leaders are Australia, Qatar, Switzerland, Finland, Spain and United Arab Emirates. France and Germany are more distant 5G followers, while Italy and UK are slightly behind the leading countries. 5G is central to the next stage of digitalisation, providing the always on, high speed and high capacity networks to underpin industrial process automation, autonomous vehicles, robotics and artificial intelligence.
5G networks are expected to significantly improve maximum speeds. For example, estimates suggest that 5G could offer maximum theoretical speeds of up to 10Gbps; more than 100 times the advertised speed for 4G networks in Australia of between 2-100Mbps.
Karim Taga, Managing Partner and Global Practice Leader TIME at ADL said future business competitiveness will rely on 5G networks, making their fast deployment essential.
“While South Korea is currently the clear leader, many others are also moving beyond trials to launch 5G networks.” Mr Taga said the adoption of 5G is expected to accelerate in the third and fourth quarters of 2019. “During 2019, we foresee that dozens of operators will launch 5G services commercially.”
Source: 5G mobile technology -Are businesses ready to seize the opportunity?, Deloitte
