Five ways to a better 5G, according to Ericsson

by David Hagerbro
President of Ericsson Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at Ericsson

WITH the number of live 5G markets increasing every day and with more and more consumers adopting technology in every aspect of their lives, what was once just awareness of a new era of technology is now turning into reality.

Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are all poised to experience this soon and the latest report "Five ways to a better 5G" from Ericsson ConsumerLab gives a glimpse into what can be expected as well as what consumers are expecting.

And they are not focusing on speed alone as the study shows it is also just as important to understand how 5G consumers perceive the 5G network experience holistically.

Now would be a good time for Customer Service Providers in countries on the cusp of 5G to begin preparing innovative services and new applications that truly leverage the unique capabilities of 5G as the report shows that while early adopters we pleased with 5G speeds, they expected more innovation.

5G is also seen as a solution by consumers who appear to have outcomes that they wish to accomplish when using it: to be productive and efficient, to be creative, new ways of connecting and socializing, the need for novelty (thrill, surprise, discovery) and rewarding me-time.

Changes in usage behavior – triggered by 5G, which started to displace Wi-Fi – were also noticed. 5G cloud gaming 5G users spent two hours more per week and one hour more on augmented reality (AR) apps compared to 4G users. 

For service providers to meet consumer expectations and improve their 5G experience, the report also suggests some ways to do so and the one is by addressing the knowledge gap to educate and better market the value of 5G.

When planning their networks, the service providers are advised that consumers considered indoor 5G coverage more important, rating indoor 5G coverage as two times more important than speed or battery life in driving satisfaction.

An interesting insight for retailers is that while globally 39 percent of consumers had expressed an intention to upgrade to 5G, analysis based on current ownership of 5G smartphones, tech attitudes, life stage of consumers, income and demographics, revealed that only 21 percent of consumers would realistically upgrade to 5G in 2021, and the rest in 2022 or later.

This translates to at least 300 million consumers across the 20 markets in our survey who could be 5G subscribers in 2021 and that figure is likely to be surpassed once 5G commercial launches take place in markets such as Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

These are indeed interesting times and Ericsson will be sure to use the insights from the report to deliver a satisfying 5G experience in countries such as Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh where we intend to make that difference with our knowledge and know how. - DagangNews.com