With Non-Standalone standards finalized and 5G radios now commercially available from vendors, many ofthe operators in the early adopter category have decided to pull forward their deployment timetables by up to two years, according to TBR’s 5G Telecom Market Forecast 2017‐2022.
This acceleration was stoked by government influence as well as the need to makenetworks more efficient to carry ever‐increasing data traffic. The fixed‐wireless use case also provides aunique opportunity to bring a competitive broadband offering to market that can rival traditional fixedaccessofferings.
Despite initiatives by some operators to accelerate their 5G deployment plans, the business case for 5G remains vague and compatible smartphones remain at least a year away from commercial debut.
These factors will cause most operators in non‐lead markets to take a wait‐and‐see approach before movingforward with 5G investment.
Meanwhile, early adopter operators will justify their investment in 5G for the competitive advantage it provides (fixed wireless broadband [FWB] use case) and the cost efficiencies it promises (mobilebroadband [MBB] use case), which is encouraging some operators to push forward with their deployment initiatives.
Industry studies have shown that 5G can be around 10 times more efficient on acost‐per‐gigabyte basis compared to LTE.
TBR’s 5G Telecom Market Forecast provides annual analysis and infrastructure spend projections of the 5G market, including 5G spend by product and service, by use case, by operator tier, and by region.
Chris Antlitz, Senior Analyst, TBR's Telecom Practice
5G has become a highly politicized topic, particularly as it pertains to the tech race between the U.S.and China. Governments in both nations have made 5G a key political initiative and view the technologyas critical to remaining a world power. This governmental oversight has exerted pressure on operators in those countries to pull forward their5G deployment timetables and leverage their investments as a means of obtaining good favor withregulators.
