Molex, a leading global connectivity and electronics solutions provider, released results of a global survey of decision-makers from telecom carriers exploring the “state of 5G” and the significant transformational opportunities it presents, along with its impact on deployment progress, current delivery challenges, and emerging business prospects. Overall, carriers are optimistic: more than half of those surveyed expect to deliver substantial end-user benefits within two to five years while 47% reported that users already are seeing value or will within one year.
“The 5G market is nearing an inflection point as carriers report steady progress despite continued challenges,” said Aldo Lopez, president, Datacom Solutions, Molex. “Fully realizing 5G’s potential will transform multiple industries and markets. It is a long game that requires collaboration across an entire ecosystem of hardware, software, and connectivity companies to innovate to these new mobile network standards, which in turn, will accelerate user adoption.”
Molex commissioned Dimensional Research to conduct The State of 5G Survey in February 2021, polling more than 200 qualified participants in engineering, product, and R&D roles at network operators or Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs). A variety of 5G questions were asked, with emphasis on timing and use cases. More than half of those surveyed reported 5G deployment delays caused by the impact of COVID-19 while more than a third reported future roadmaps delays.
Other key findings include:
- 92% expect to achieve 5G business goals within five years; larger carriers reported a focus on generating new revenue streams while supporting existing business to reduce operational costs and accommodate increasing demand (65%)
- Consumer devices leveraging 5G technology will be first to generate significant new revenue (43%), followed by industrial and IIoT (35%) and fixed wireless access (33%)
- 100% of respondents report issues with 5G deployment; top-three challenges are spectrum issues (41%), lack of consumer use cases (31%), and regulations (30%)