Research from Nokia suggests that improved video capabilities remain the most compelling 5G application for both consumers and enterprises.
During the global pandemic, more people than ever are working from home and relying on remote communication. Video calls have proven essential for many, even though they frequently suffer from poor performance.
Nokia’s recent poll found that 90 percent of consumers consider uninterrupted video calls to be a “very valuable” aspect of 5G connectivity. Among businesses, 83 percent view video calls as a “compelling” use case for 5G.
More than half of respondents (55%) find immersive experiences—enabled by technologies like augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR)—appealing. Roughly half believe these technologies could be effective for employee training.
Companies already using connected devices are more likely to recognize the benefits of expanding their deployments.
Seventy-seven percent of businesses with connected equipment find the prospect of 5G-enabled remote control of machinery appealing. Eighty-two percent of respondents with existing cloud robotics deployments consider 5G-enabled cloud robotics “highly appealing.”
Similarly, organizations that already use connected vehicles are most interested in the enhancements 5G can provide. Nokia found the strongest interest where connected vehicles serve paying customers or support safety and security functions.
“We anticipate requirements born out of the COVID-19 pandemic will accelerate longer-term 5G plans with a focus on digitisation, automation, and analytics, which perfectly lend themselves to physical distancing, monitoring, and remote working,” said Josh Aroner, vice president of marketing for Nokia’s service provider business.
Nokia’s survey was completed before the coronavirus crisis escalated into a global pandemic. The value of 5G for video calling and other applications is now even more evident.
“We conducted this survey to demystify 5G hype and to get to the crux of what will drive enterprises to adopt 5G for their WAN and LAN applications,” Aroner added. “It also reveals how communication service providers can grow revenue by offering services that enterprise customers are willing to pay for.”
About 61 percent of business respondents still look to mobile operators for guidance when planning 5G services, despite the growing ability to deploy private wireless networks.
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