Huawei Technologies Co called for more efforts to embrace industry opportunities to maximize 5G business value.
Hu Houkun, the rotating chairman of Huawei, said in a live-streamed discussion at Huawei's annual Global Mobile Broadband Forum which kicked off in Dubai, on Tuesday that "Technology is changing so fast, and new demands are evolving every day, so our networks need to keep evolving too."
"Our industry as a whole needs to get ready for the future and maximize the value of investments in 5G – and that's why we're working so hard on 5G-Advanced," Hu said.
5G Advanced is an evolution of 5G technologies that feature faster downlink speeds.
Hu said 5G has seen remarkable progress in network deployment, adoption, consumer services, and industry applications. To date, more than 260 5G networks have been deployed worldwide, covering nearly half of the world's population. 5G is the fastest-growing mobile technology ever, having reached one billion connections only three years after its launch. By comparison, it took 4G six years to reach the same milestone.
According to Hu, 5G has become a new growth engine for mobile operators in the consumer market. For leading mobile operators around the world, 5G now accounts for the majority of network traffic. In particular, video-based applications are changing consumption habits, driving a three- to five-fold increase in network traffic and a 10%–25% average increase in ARPU.
5G has also helped mobile communications networks expand into the vertical industry market – one of its biggest differences with 4G. Currently, there are more than 50,000 industrial 5G applications worldwide, and more than 10 million 5G connections in industrial settings.
"Over the past four years, we've identified key scenarios for industrial applications, like remote control, video backhaul, machine vision, and positioning, where we can maximize the value of 5G," Hu continued. "We have also identified industries like mining, ports, and manufacturing where we can scale up 5G capabilities."
Mats Granryd, the Director General of GSMA, said "5G is driving digital transformation across industries and opening up enormous opportunities. In 2030, 5G will add $1 trillion to the global economy, with benefits spreading across all industries."
Speaking on the next steps for 5G, Hu mentioned several key consumer-facing initiatives that can help mobile operators achieve ongoing business success. These include continuously expanding network coverage, enhancing user experience, and exploring more flexible pricing models.
As for the business-to-business market, Hu suggested that the industry should leverage proven 5G applications to drive 5G adoption at scale across more industries. Throughout this process, mobile operators can better position themselves to seize new opportunities in industry digitalization by strengthening their capabilities in cloud, industrial application development, and end-to-end system integration.
"Looking forward, we have lots of work to do," said Hu. "We need to enhance our capabilities, evolve the technology, create better user experience, scale up in industry, and maximize the value of our investment on 5G."
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