Juniper Research predicts that 5G connections will surpass one billion by 2025 as wireless networks increasingly compete with fiber broadband.
If you follow telecom developments, you already know 5G progress is accelerating and some industry leaders have suggested deployments could begin before the 2020 baseline. Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri has said 5G will start to take shape “in real terms” before the end of the year.
“2020 is probably when we’ll see global volume deployments, but we’ll probably start to see a lot of action, in an evolutionary way, ahead of 2020 – 2017, 2018, 2019,” Suri said at a press briefing during Mobile World Congress.
Juniper’s forecast identifies the countries expected to lead 5G connection volumes by 2025:
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China
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United States
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Japan
Together, these three countries are projected to represent 55 percent of global 5G connections, underscoring the need for regions such as Europe to take a more proactive role in developing and deploying next-generation network technologies.
When focusing specifically on 5G IoT connections, the United States is expected to lead, accounting for more than 20 percent of global IoT connections by 2025.
Juniper also expects average revenue per connection (ARPC) for 5G IoT to be relatively low, driven by modest data requirements and infrequent duty cycles of many IoT devices. To maintain profitability, operators will need to optimise operational costs. Software-based network solutions can help manage the wide variety of 5G IoT device profiles efficiently.
“Operators and vendors must test their networks in a real-world environment at scale, ensuring speeds can compete with fibre services,” said Juniper research author Sam Barker. “Networks that can deliver the highest speeds and greatest reliability will command the highest ARPCs, hastening an operator’s return on 5G investment.”
A free whitepaper titled ‘5G: How Operators Can Maximise ROI’ is available from Juniper Research.
Do you agree with Juniper’s 5G projections? Share your thoughts in the comments.