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A new study from Juniper Research has found that global revenue from 5G services will reach $73 billion by the end of 2021; rising from $20 billion last year. This represents a growth of 250%. It predicts that 5G will represent 8.5% of operator revenue by the end of this year, as operators seek a return on their significant investment into the technology.
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However, the new report, 5G Monetisation: Business Models, Strategic Recommendations & Market Forecasts 2021-2026, recommends that operators focus efforts on virtualising core network functions to reduce the network strain arising from the increase in data traffic from 5G adoption. It predicts that operators will face challenges in meeting the mobile data demands arising from 5G networks and forecasts that cellular data generated by 5G connections will rise to 1.5 million Petabytes globally by 2026; representing 214 million hours of 4K video streaming.
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5G Service Revenue to Exceed $600 Billion by 2026
The report found that operators’ 5G service revenue will increase to over $600 billion by 2026. However, the advanced data capabilities of 5G standards will drive adoption in areas such as mobile gaming and immersive reality, which will proliferate as geographical coverage and device support increase over the next 5 years, to which operators must prepare networks for.
Report author Dave Bowie remarked: “Given the varying requirements of these 5G use cases, network orchestration tools that enable the real-time management of network performance are key to providing a service that meets the demand of 5G subscribers and enable operators to fully maximise 5G service revenue.”
Mobile Broadband to Test 5G Resilience
The report predicts that over 80% of 5G data generated will be attributable to mobile broadband connections. To support this growth, it recommends that operators increase network virtualisation and network orchestration, and urged accelerated roll-outs of fibre backhaul infrastructure that can handle high data generation, to reduce the threat of traffic congestion over 5G mobile broadband services.
