5G and data-driven business models

The arrival of 5G will be a transformative experience for global business. Through 5G network adoption, long-awaited solutions to a range of shortcomings in key communications technologies will emerge. The limitations of technology to contribute to business development and performance will be flipped over.  Taking this in to account, a recent telecoms report predicts that a third of mobile operators will deploy 5G standalone within two years. But significantly, it also indicates that half of operators intend to migrate to a common data layer for their network functions as they roll out their 5G offering.

New data model

The adoption of a common data model by operators is symptomatic of where the fifth generation of wireless communications technologies will prove transformative. The unprecedented connectivity in specific to 5G, will serve to generate, activate and integrate business data to a previously impossible extent. This is apparent in the direction of travel for network architecture. The common data model will enable essential business data across areas including device engagement, network services, subscriptions and connectivity. It will also facilitate integration for data storage and access like never before. And this new data-driven model will represent an essential business enabler through access to new revenue streams across the telecoms space.

Next generation mobile

First generation mobile technology was all about connecting people but had little data-generating capability. This has transformed over the past decade with mobile technology evolving into a data conduit. The sector’s essential priorities have shifted to include the provision of a constant stream of diverse information and content to users. In turn, consumers themselves have become generators of unprecedented quantities and new forms of data. This dynamic is set to be supercharged across mobile with the rollout of 5G. As the promise of 5G takes hold, our customers are demanding the increased performance and flexibility they need to rapidly deliver services with lower latency where it is needed most. To help, Intel has created a portfolio for 5G network infrastructure development, including critical components for early 5G network deployment, which are enabling businesses to future-proof their offering in the face of 5G-driven transformation. The resulting availability of enhanced mobile broadband (e-MBB) will be among the key results.

In this context, uptake use cases will include the harnessing of 5G’s ground-breaking connectivity to stream even higher quality video across expanding markets. And in terms of addressing the limitations of existing infrastructure technology, eMBB will expand service coverage across wide areas and address perennial problem points such as stadiums, housing complexes and shopping centres. And a direct implication of this infrastructure improvement will be a significant increase in the amounts of data used and generated by consumers. People will be empowered to generate and share whatever content they want, anywhere, and at any time.

The operational implications of this development will be seismic for mobile providers servicing the TikTok generation. Verizon, the US network provider and Intel partner, were early in recognizing the transformative potential of 5G. The company is rapidly rolling out 5G Ultra-Wideband services in the US. It was the first operator to offer Intel-enabled 5G home services and achieved a global industry-first with the 5G network edge computing. Directing the power of the cloud closer to mobile, Verizon is anticipating an array of new and previously unimagined use cases and connecting evermore devices at the edge of its Ultra-Wideband network.

Data-rich customers  

For mobile operators and entrepreneurs across the telecoms space, the coming of 5G will bring a diverse range of operational improvements, which will serve to enhance their offering to customers. Such advancements will include faster network and data speeds, greater energy efficiency, lower latency, and increased bandwidths. In the broader sense, the improvements to network infrastructure will mean fundamental consumer behavioral change, with traditional broadband practices increasingly happening across mobile networks. Fundamental to this shift, will be the capacity of 5G to significantly improve the efficiency of data transmission. Commercially, this will represent a game-changing advantage for operators. A more efficient network means cheaper by the bit data. And the passing of this benefit to consumers represents a new era of data-generated business opportunities and trends across multiple sectors.