Over the last three years, since the time 5G was first launched, the 5G ecosystem has continued to move from strength to strength, helping service providers grow their revenue and market share while providing innovative use uses to their users. It is for this reason that the 5G deployments have accelerated globally in all geographies, particularly in the Middle, Asia Pacific and Europe regions.

As per the latest data released by GSA in January 2023, 243 commercial 5G networks have been launched globally, while 515 service providers are investing in 5G. Further, more than 1700 5G devices have been announced across the globe. 5G users increased from 819 million in June to 924 million in September 2022 and have likely crossed one billion by December 2022, thus covering 36% of the world’s population, according to Strategy Analytics.

All this means that 5G is growing three times faster than 4G. The 5G’s growth globally is impressive, considering it was launched in 2019 and it continued its growth trajectory even during the pandemic.

Revenue Increase of 5G Global Operators Worldwide

A key reason behind the fast growth of the 5G ecosystem globally is that it is helping service providers improve their revenue and increase their users as well. While the previous technologies were about improved speed and coverage, 5G allows operators to increase their subscriber base by enabling them to provide new use cases for different industry verticals.

China and South Korea were the earlier adopters of 5G and mobile service recovery has made a “strong recovery” in both market since the launch of 5G. “From falling 4-5% per annum in mid-2019, they are now growing 3-4% per annum…Higher-value services are the cornerstone of 5G propositions in these markets and the high level of adoption of 5G is helping to amplify this effect,” says

Globally, 5G service providers in all geographies are witnessing a significant increase in their business. All 22 leading 5G operators in China, South Korea, and other countries achieved significant business growth from mobile services. Further, nearly 125 (72%) of the 173 global 5G operators have seen revenue growth from mobile services, and 5G is the crucial reason for this. According to Strategy Analytics, mobile service revenue is growing by 3-4% annually for service providers and 5G is a key factor behind this improved performance.

Similarly, Thailand’s AIS has recorded ARPU growth of 10-15% and had 5.5 million 5G subscribers in September 2022, which is around 12% of its subscribers. On the other hand, Elisa in Finland reported a revenue increase of €3 per month as a result of 5G upgrades in Q3. 5G now accounts for 33% of smartphones on its network, according to Strategy Analytics.

Business success of 5G operators

One can evaluate the success of the major 5G operators to find out how 5G is helping them grow their revenue. Take the case of China Mobile, one of the largest 5G service providers in the world with its network covering more than one billion people in China. At the end of December 2022, China Mobile had more than 1.27 million 5G base stations. Enthused by the positive response to its 5G services, the operator plans to build more than one million 5G base stations by the end of this year.

On the other hand, Telefonica is a perfect example of how 5G is helping service providers in growing revenue opportunities in both consumer and business segments. Telefonica’s focus on using smart bundling (including FMS) and network parity through its 5G services has led to cumulative revenue growth of about 5% between 2020 and 2022.

Another example is that of Zain KSA, which has seen its growth surge by eight times during the last three years after it launched Fixed Wireless Access (FWA). The service provider recorded a 30% increase in ARPU for wireless home customers compared to 4G to 5G. South Africa’s first 5G FWA operator, Rain, reached the ‘break-even’ point in just three years, highlighting the latent demand for high-speed and low-latency services powered by 5G. This helped it to deliver significantly improved benefits, up by 9.7% to touch 3.6 billion South African Rands, to its investors.

The first-mover advantage is crucial in helping service providers gain market share as is evident in the case of Zain Kuwait, which was the first operator to launch 5G services in the Middle East. 5G traffic now accounts for more than 40% of its total wireless traffic, thus helping it emerge as the number one country in GCC countries in terms of 5G offload ratio.

Several other service providers, like Elisa and DNA in Finland, HKT in Hong Kong, True and AIS in Thailand and Vodafone in Germany, among others, are in the process of expanding 5G coverage to provide new and novel use cases to their subscribers.

 In Closing

The business success of the 5G service providers clearly demonstrates that 5G is helping service providers increase market share and gain a crucial first-mover advantage while delivering superior experiences and use cases to their subscribers. This indicates that the service providers must accelerate the deployment of 5G and grow the coverage across all regions in their respective service areas.

News

The 12-week consultation could form the basis of legislation that would force major tech firms to subsidise telco infrastructure costs

Today, the European Commission has announced its latest steps towards making gigabit connectivity available to all citizens by 2030.

Included within these updates is the proposed introduction of a ‘Gigabit Infrastructure Act’, aimed to reduce the red tape and administrative costs associated with deploying gigabit-capable networks, as well as a draft of a Gigabit Recommendation, seeking to provide guidance to national regulators about when operators should be allowed to access their competitors networks.

But perhaps most important among these updates is the launch of a consultation on the future of the telecoms sector, seeking to “gather views on the changing technological and market landscape and how it may affect the sector for electronic communications”.

At the heart of this investigation is the so-called ‘fair share’ debate, asking whether Big Tech firms like Google and Meta should be forced to help subsidise the expensive roll out of telecoms infrastructure on which their businesses are so reliant.

Proponents of this idea, naturally, include the majority of European telecoms network operators, who point to a report from the European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association (ETNO) that suggests that the top six tech giants generated over 55% of all telecom networks’ traffic.

As such, it should come as no surprise that ETNO has called the launch of the consultation “a positive and urgent step towards addressing major imbalances in the internet ecosystem to the benefit of European end-users”, while John Giusti, Chief Regulatory Officer at the GSMA, said in a statement that the “burden [of funding network infrastructure] should not fall entirely on the backs of European consumers and businesses”.

In a blog post yesterday, Telefonica’s Chief Public Policy, Competition & Regulatory Officer, Juan Montero Rodil, argued that the EU would not meet its digital and connectivity goals without financial support from Big Tech.

“The solution that we are proposing is rather simple: The EU must ensure LTOs [Large Traffic Originators] have an obligation to sit down, negotiate and reach fair agreements on a fair and proportionate price for the services provided,” he said. “Such legislation will enable network operators to further invest in digital infrastructure to help achieve the EU’s digital targets and will incentivise LTOs to deliver traffic in a more efficient way for the benefit of the ecosystem.”

Others, however, have been far less enthusiastic about this plan, suggesting that it will infringe on European net neutrality principles that ensures all internet traffic is treated indiscriminately. It has also been argued that such a levy will essentially allow operators to be paid twice for providing the single service – once by their subscribers and again by the tech firms.

“Europeans already pay telecom operators for internet access, they should not have to pay telcos a second time through pricier streaming and cloud services,” argued Christian Borggreen, CCIA Europe’s senior vice president.

Now, the Commission is seeking the opinions of the wider telecoms industry in the form of a questionnaire, the outline of which was leaked earlier this month.

The consultation period will remain open until May, after which the Commission will decide on its next steps, including whether to implement new legislation.

Keep up with all the latest international telecoms news with Total Telecom’s daily newsletter

Also in the news:
AT&T signs up to use Frontier’s fibre to connect mobile towers
UScellular urges customers to put down their phones in latest initiative
VMO2 and Vodafone give rural Scotland a 4G boost

Two contract wins, one federal grant, some FTTH, and another terabit optical launch: … [visit site to read more]

With 400G and 800G now finding their feet in real deployments across the infrastructure world, it’s that time again for the next generation of technology to get started. Yesterday Ciena led off with the introduction of its WaveLogic 6 technology, which will bust through … [visit site to read more]

Press Release

T-Mobile and Amazon Web Services, Amazon’s cloud computing division, today are joining forces to bring 5G connectivity paired with AWS compute solutions to T-Mobile’s 5G Advanced Network Solutions portfolio. They will also collaborate on customizable, use case specific offerings as part of the new Integrated Private Wireless on AWS program. These offerings help businesses get the performance and applications they need for their unique use cases – for example, monitoring worker safety on remote industrial campuses, performing predictive maintenance on manufacturing equipment, or ensuring faster aircraft turnaround times at the airport.

“T-Mobile and AWS are coming together to do what industry-leading companies do best – make things easier for customers,” said Callie Field, President, T-Mobile Business Group. “Businesses need a combination of connectivity and compute that fits into their current infrastructure. With our flexible 5G network deployment options and AWS’s cloud compute capabilities, we can quickly provide customers a right-sized solution to make their applications – new and existing – perform like never before.”

“AWS and T-Mobile share a common desire to work backwards from customer feedback to deliver innovation,” said Adolfo Hernandez, Vice President, Telco Industry at AWS. “One of the biggest challenges in galvanizing industries and revenue for 5G services has been the lack of flexible 5G solutions that meet the compute and connectivity needs for customers. Together with T-Mobile’s innovative suite of 5G Advanced Network Solutions and our Integrated Private Wireless Program, we have the power to meet customers where they are.”

After years of industry excitement, 5G private network adoption has underwhelmed, but the potential is undeniably huge. The challenge has been the complexity and cost businesses face in unlocking that potential – requiring them to work across multiple vendors for compute, connectivity, applications, integration and more at a time of increased budget pressures. With some connectivity vendors insisting on a costly one-size-fits all approach to private networking – instead of a flexible set of private, hybrid and public networking options – it’s no wonder adoption has been slow to take off.

By working together, T-Mobile and AWS can help customers more easily discover, customize, and deploy 5G edge compute. Current AWS customers or businesses wanting AWS services can use the Integrated Private Wireless on AWS portal to explore customized solutions, browsing by industry or use case. Then they simply choose T-Mobile as their 5G provider. For U.S. businesses new to any advanced network or compute solution, T-Mobile will be able to work with them to set up a 5G public, hybrid or private network that’s already integrated with AWS’s customizable edge infrastructure and services.

How is the rise of public cloud shifting the dynamics of the US telecoms industry? Join the operators live in discussion at this year’s Connected America conference 

Also in the news:
AT&T signs up to use Frontier’s fibre to connect mobile towers
UScellular urges customers to put down their phones in latest initiative
VMO2 and Vodafone give rural Scotland a 4G boost