Ericsson’s latest Consumer and Industry Insight report highlights six clear recommendations from consumers that mobile operators must address to build a solid foundation for 5G adoption.
Described as the largest consumer study on 5G expectations to date, “Towards a 5G consumer future” gathers input from the equivalent of 800 million smartphone users worldwide.
The report reveals that 60% of smartphone users struggle with the complexity of mobile data plans, and only about half of those users are satisfied with how plans are presented online. Consumers are asking for a straightforward, effortless purchasing experience with transparent options and clear pricing.
When it comes to unused data, two in five consumers want the remaining allowance handled more like a currency: they want options to trade, save or gift unused data. On average, a smartphone user leaves approximately 31 gigabytes of mobile data unused each year, highlighting a wasted value opportunity that operators could address.
The study also dispels the notion that consumers are uninterested in 5G. It finds that 76% of global smartphone users are attracted to 5G services, and 44% are willing to pay for the technology. Many consumers expect 5G services to reach mainstream adoption within three to four years of launch, and more than half anticipate using 5G-enhanced services within 24 months of their introduction.
Consumers urge operators to adopt honest marketing practices: avoid exaggerated claims or vague slogans, and focus instead on communicating real, demonstrable network experience and benefits.
In related industry developments, ZTE has introduced Cloud ServCore, a 5G Core product built on a service-based architecture (SBA) and a microservice, cloud-native model. Cloud ServCore leverages microservice components, DevOps tools and containerized deployment to support network slicing, on-demand orchestration, elasticity and high reliability—capabilities essential for modern 5G networks.
The rollout of 5G Cloud ServCore is positioned as a key step toward the industrialization and commercialization of 5G Core technologies, helping operators move from trials to scalable, production-ready networks.
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