American consumers are excited about their new 5G phones, unlimited data plans, and 5G networks that cover all three spectrum bands. Meanwhile, American enterprises already have several opportunities to connect to the 5G innovation platform in 2022.
Since the definition of 5G was established, the significant growth opportunity associated with enterprises has been a crucial part of the agenda. Some of the more extensive opportunities go through several iterative steps, from proofs-of-concept for use cases to commercial realizations with the potential to scale. At the same time, there are six low-hanging fruits businesses can start exploring right now.
Personal Communication
Your employees might already use a 5G phone for private purposes, or they might be among the 153 million people in North America to have a 5G subscription by the end of the year. Business users with 5G smartphones enjoy better personal video communication capabilities and support the health tracking and productivity tools we expect to see in the hybrid office world. It will be harder to upgrade to a non-5G smartphone the further we get into 2022. Those who don’t upgrade now will miss out on the rich service offerings associated with 5G smartphone subscriptions for businesses.
Flexible Work
Twenty-four months ago, we jumped into the deep end of the work-from-home pool. We started at the kitchen table and have pivoted from there. Remote workers and students living outside of fiber-hoods have stress-tested their home broadband and many have exhausted their current solution. 5G to pocket-router or a fixed wireless terminal can be a great alternative, along with a steady flow of terminal products and data plans to support your team.
Ultra-mobility
Thirteen years ago, AT&T, Lenovo, and Ericsson launched the first laptop with integrated cellular capabilities. Fast forward to 2022, and there are 56 models of 5G-powered tablets and laptops/notebooks ready to serve the ultramobile workforce. This part of your workforce is well suited to push the boundaries for a flexible hybrid office beyond the two endpoints (home and primary office). We passed the 10 million mark in 2021 for cellular-connected computers, and this market continues to grow steadily. 69% of these devices will connect via 5G by 2025.
Branch Office Connectivity
Two-thirds of large commercial buildings have fiber access today, and it’s anticipated that all will connect via fiber before the decade's end. Smaller commercial buildings face a different reality, however: It will take a doubling of the deployment rate for them to reach 50% in the same timeframe. Wireless WAN using 4G is very mature today, and 5G will make it even better. 4G enabled 39% of businesses to use wireless fail-over access to complement the primary fiber access. With 5G, we have the potential to use wireless connectivity for both primary and fail-over access for branch offices, to connect small commercial buildings, and for a fail-over to large buildings without access to redundant fiber paths.
Innovation at Campuses
5G innovations have been brewing in labs hosted by technology and service providers for some time. The next step for large enterprises and universities is to expand these capabilities to their campuses. With campus-wide 5G networks, you can participate in creating 5G innovation and empower your employees be digital pioneers by testing your ideas before scaling nationwide and abroad. Our 270 research universities and 122 Global Fortune-500 companies will likely adopt 5G campus networks first.
Industry 4.0
American industrial enterprises are undergoing a significant digital transformation, and 5G can play a crucial role through fully connected supply chains. Mines are adopting private 5G networks, where previously cellular was non-existing or sketchy. Smart factories are leveraging private 5G networks and on-premises-based edge computing to transform their OT environment. An example of this is in Ericsson’s 5G factory in Lewisville, Texas, which demonstrates that manufacturing can be "reshored" with high automation levels and a low environmental footprint. Warehouses can take advantage of private 5G networks to meet increased security, reliability, and availability requirements. Bringing it all together is a connected supply chain, where the public 5G network keeps all stakeholders updated in real time.
These six opportunities are concrete examples of how American businesses can take advantage of the 5G innovation platform this year.
Encourage your employees join the first 153 million American 5G smartphone users. Let those with poor fixed broadband in urban and suburban areas take advantage of 5G. Set the bar high to explore flexible office work beyond offices and homes, and let the insights shape your hybrid office agenda. Connect your branch offices well, even when there is no fiber to the building. Turn your main campuses into 5G innovation hubs to advance new ideas and perfect prototypes. Recognize that 2022 can be an essential moving year for mines, factories, warehouses, and logistic operations.
Aspire to be a 5G pioneer who shapes your company's future.
The editorial staff had no role in this post's creation.