5G production use cases by 2020: Ericsson

In its latest 5G-IoT report, unveiled at Mobile World Congress, Ericsson feels that industry verticals will have use cases in production by 2020.

Manufacturing, energy and utilities, public transport and financial services are the industries most likely to have use cases in production by 2020.

The report revealed that trials of 5G use cases will start in 2018, after which activities will ramp up quickly, with over 70 percent of companies aiming to have use cases in production by 2021.

The previous 5G Business Potential report found that operators can add a revenue of $204 to 619 billion (12 to 36 percent) to their forecast service revenues of $1.7 trillion in 2026. They can do this by targeting the digital transformation of other industries, such as automotive and manufacturing, using 5G-IoT technology.

In its latest 5G-IoT report, Ericsson examined more than 400 industry digitalization use cases across 10 industries: energy & utilities; manufacturing; public safety; healthcare; public transport; media and entertainment; automotive; financial services; retail and agriculture.

Of the 400 use cases, over 200 are where 5G is expected to play a vital role. These were grouped into clusters to boost revenue opportunities and overcome deployment challenges.

The report also highlights how use cases can be evolved to reach the full 5G-enabled industry digitalization business potential. Lastly, the report looks at various operator initiatives and shares some of the lessons learned so far.

Ericsson has identified nine clusters covering almost 90 percent of the addressable 5G business potential opportunity. Real-time automation is the largest cluster, with a revenue potential of $101 billion by 2026. Enhanced video services are a close second, with revenue potential of $96 billion by the same year.

Thomas Noren, Head of 5G Commercialization at Ericsson said, “Our case studies have shown that operators employ strategic and operational activities to address challenges facing the success of their offerings. Even though they’re not yet 5G offerings, these activities – such as go-to-market channels and trial and experimentation – will be equally important, if not more, when evolved towards 5G.”