We speak to Andrew Coward, GM of Software Defined Networking at IBM, to find out his thoughts on the 5G future.
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We’ve heard a lot about the potential of 5G networks unlocking value for all enterprise players, across the entire ecosystem. With millions of 5G devices and huge waves of new data being collected, how can 5G redefine how the world connects?
Let’s face it, it was a big year for 5G (opens in new tab). With the global 5G infrastructure market (opens in new tab) estimated to hit $9.26 billion USD in 2022 and $81 billion USD by 2027, at a compound annual growth rate of 54.37%, we as an industry continued to move toward mass adoption. We saw considerable bandwidth upgrades and an uptick in fixed wireless access, while private 5G use cases (opens in new tab) garnered considerable mainstream attention.
Simply put, 5G technology will continue to move from the premium market towards a more affordable one as increased competition among the chip makers help to drive operating costs. To be clear, there’s still a large demand for 4G, which will ultimately keep prices high, but a larger 5G ecosystem will see an increase in not only providers in the market, but also the continued desire to make previous “G”s obsolete, so the spectrum can be reapplied to 5G.5G rollout hasn’t been always seamless for some of the biggest telco providers in the world. Why do you think 2022, and looking ahead to 2023, these networks will take off across both the consumer and enterprise landscape?
In early 2022, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management firm, made headlines by announcing (opens in new tab) plans to equip its forthcoming global headquarters with a private 5G network. In 2023, expect many more companies with a large campus, factory floor or large geographic footprint to follow suit as the capabilities of cellular networks begin to make this configuration more and more desirable, and where 5G can start eating-in to Wi-Fi’s hegemony.
