5G networks critical for big business

Global business leaders say that mobile and wireless are critical to the way they do business, but they worry that their needs are outpacing existing access networks, according to a new report by Forbes Insights and Huawei.

The report, The Mobile Industrial Revolution: Anticipating the Impact and Opportunities of 5G Networks on Business, which surveyed over 1000 senior executives worldwide, reveals that many companies with revenues in excess of $10 billion say that their current systems already can’t support the evolving needs of their business.

The problem is most pressing in the Asia–Pacific region, where 38% of all executives agree they’ve outgrown their networks, followed closely by Europe (36%) and North America (34%).

In order to evolve and succeed in the future, these executives say their companies will require revolutionary increases in the speed, capacity and connectivity of mobile devices — and they’re looking to 5G networks to provide it.

Sixty-seven per cent say they need mobile networks that provide ultrahigh throughput, while nearly as many say they require massive numbers of connections (64%) or ultralow latency (59%).

“Organisations with an eye on the future are already anticipating the impact of 5G technology,” said Bruce Rogers, chief insights officer at Forbes Media. “They are working on long-term plans to innovate and realise value from this.”

The introduction of 5G networks in the next five to 10 years is expected to create big opportunities to build enterprise value in a range of industries, profoundly affecting business operations, P&l economics, asset valuations and revenue models.

Other findings from the report show that while many are looking to 5G to solve business needs, more than a third (36%) know “very little” or “nothing” about the technologies and issues around 5G wireless. Only 27% say they are “very familiar”;leaders in the technology industry are unsurprisingly much better informed than their colleagues in other verticals.

“5G will help to realise a completely new world for consumers, for vertical industries and for operators,” said Qiuheng, president of Wireless Network Marketing Operation at Huawei.

“This will be a fully connected world converging the physical world and the cyber world, and this world will provide infinite new business opportunities for vertical industries and for operators.”

However, according to the survey, only 26% of all companies say they are “extensively” exploring or planning how they might use 5G, while 15% say they are not planning at all.

The companies sitting on the sidelines tend to be smaller and earn less revenue. Executives at companies with revenues below $500 million say they aren’t making plans — five times as many as those from $10 billion-plus organisations who also say they aren’t planning for 5G.

About the research

The ‘Mobile Industrial Revolution: Anticipating the Impact and Opportunities of 5G Networks on Business’ report is based on a 2015 global survey of 1147 senior executives across numerous industries, including manufacturing, technology and health care, conducted by Forbes Insights. Close to 80% are C-level executives; 43% are CEOs — all from either Asia–Pacific (36%), North America (33%) or Europe (30%). Companies with an annual revenue of $10 billion or more accounted for 22% of respondents, while 23% have revenues of $1–10 billion; and 55% have revenues of $1 billion or less. Forbes Insights said it also conducted one-on-one interviews with several executives to further illuminate the findings.

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