- While initial 5G hype disappointed, fixed wireless access (FWA) emerged as an unexpected win
- Most telco execs see limited 5G success so far, viewing it as a long-term play
- Get the full story — download our free report for insights on 5G use cases, private wireless, AI applications, and more.
The 5G hype of the mid-2010s is downright embarrassing to think back on, like looking through your high school yearbook photos. 5G was predicted to unlock an instant revenue gusher for telcos, while consumers' lives would be transformed by high-speed, low-latency connections that enabled self-driving cars, the metaverse and remote-control surgery.
Of course, the reality has been different. Self-driving cars have emerged slowly and haltingly; nobody's interested in the metaverse; and remote-control surgery seems insane.
Consumers don't care about 5G. They don't even know if their phones are 5G-enabled. And telcos are still struggling financially as they seemingly always have done.
It would be easy to assume that 5G is a failure.
But if you think that, you're wrong. The reality is more nuanced. 5G is doing well in some areas, even as initial predictions about its success proved off the mark.
To find out how network operators are thinking about 5G's current success and future trajectory, Fierce Network surveyed 176 network decision-makers and influencers at communications service providers, including wireless, broadband, satellite and cable, in the first two months of this year. My colleague Linda Hardesty, chief analyst - Communications Technologies, compiled the findings in an in-depth report that's free to download: "The State of 5G: Telco leaders share insights on enterprise demand, AI and other market trends."
"It would be fair to say that 5G has been quite a wild ride for the wireless industry," Linda writes in the report, sponsored by Globalstar and Pure Storage: "Things that, at first, seemed important faded into the background. And things that didn’t initially seem at all important rose to the top."
Beyond the 5G hype
In particular, 5G has seen surprising success as a medium for fixed wireless access (FWA).
"FWA has become the shining star of 5G ever since carriers realized they could use its faster speeds, in conjunction with their excess spectrum capacity, to offer home and business broadband services with an FWA device," Linda writes. "This has brought in real revenue for carriers and allowed them to compete against cable operators in many areas."
Some 43% of survey respondents named FWA as the most important application that 5G delivers, with 33% naming network slicing and 24% picking private wireless.
Notwithstanding FWA, 5G has proven disappointing for telcos.
When asked how successful they think current 5G deployments are, the majority (60%) of telco executives said they’ve had limited success so far, with the expectation that 5G will be more of a long-term effort. Only 10% see 5G deployments as being extremely successful. While 7% see current 5G deployments as being disappointing.
Here's what's actually happening now with 5G
Other things you'll learn in our comprehensive report:
- Top 5G use cases
- Top benefits of 5G private wireless
- Why telcos are excited by 5G standalone (SA) cores
- Top benefits of 5G SA cores.
- The biggest barrier to implementing 5G private wireless
- Who telco execs perceive as the best 5G service provider
- Anticipated AI use cases for 5G
- Whether we'll see a need for 6G by 2030
- And more
Download the free report now: "The State of 5G: Telco leaders share insights on enterprise demand, AI and other market trends."