High/low: a model for future 5G-Advanced networks 

5G-Advanced: underpinning a monetisation imperative

5G take-up continues to grow. Adoption has now reached around 20% globally but is considerably higher in most of the vanguard countries. China (with 45% adoption), South Korea (49%) and the US (57%) are among the most populous countries in this group. The pace of 5G adoption since launch has been the fastest of any mobile technology generation. 4G took twice as long to reach this level, while 3G was around 2.5× slower. The reasons are well established and include wide handset availability with declining price points, expanded network coverage, faster speeds, high levels of competition among operators on airtime prices, and relief from Covid-era macro pressures. 

China is home to a fast developing 5G story and has a growing gravitational pull, given its impact on strategic industries and the content ecosystem in the consumer domain. Translating its 5G adoption rate into absolute connections numbers – 810 million – underscores its sheer size. By 2030, China’s 5G connections base will exceed 1.6 billion, accounting for around a third of the global total despite being home to less than 20% of the global population. 

The imperative for operators is to monetise this connections growth beyond the marginal levels reported to date. Most of the revenue uplift attributable to 5G on the consumer side has so far come from price premiums in return for higher speeds and data allowances. This is fine and justified but ultimately not sustainable, because the price premiums will eventually be competed away. The enterprise segment has more incremental revenue upside but this has not yet materialised beyond marginal levels.

China offers a useful case study. The imminent arrival of 5G-Advanced networks with 3GPP Release 18 (the next phase of 5G) provides an upgrade that increases the ability to monetise several enterprise and consumer applications more than has been possible to date. This includes low-power IoT with RedCap, FWA broadband, and a range of higher bandwidth streaming and entertainment categories that could draw on extended reality (XR). 

How much more do 5G customers lean towards entertainment categories?

Percentage of contract customers who have added, or are interested in adding, a given entertainment subscription to their tariff

Source: GSMA Intelligence

Beijing trial: leading the way

I had the opportunity to speak at Huawei’s 5G Evolution Summit at MWC Barcelona 2024. The discussion focused on monetisation strategies that can form the basis of network transformation upgrades.

An important question for 5G-Advanced is how to balance the goals of high network performance and cost effectiveness. Huawei and China Unicom have undertaken a trial in Beijing to this effect. The trial brings together an approach to balance low and high frequency band spectrum such that coverage and capacity layers are both delivered. To date, China Unicom’s 5G network in Beijing has become robust. However, the fast rising traffic profile and concentration in dense, urban areas mean further upgrades and rearchitecting are necessary to ensure performance. The following network KPIs for China Unicom in Beijing underscore this: 

  • approximately 4,000 sites support 200 MHz spectrum 
  • 5G coverage is at parity with 4G 
  • utilisation can reach over 90% in the busy hour.

The trial set up a network to integrate high-band spectrum with mid-band holdings (3.4–3.6 GHz, 4.8–5.0 GHz). Drive tests of the network indicate peak download rates of 10 Gbps with a continuous (i.e. sustained and uninterrupted) rate of 5 Gbps. The network strategy uses a handover algorithm rather than carrier aggregation to link the spectrum holdings, preserving capacity only when it is needed in real time (such as at a sporting event). This means high-bandwidth use cases (e.g. VR gaming at an e-sports venue, or glasses-free 3D) can be serviced while maintaining coverage across the network and indoors, given that lower band propagates better through walls. Higher uplink speeds were also achieved, which helps with high-definition video streaming and other bandwidth-intensive applications such as VR. 

Outlook

The partnership and trial are a good indication of how 5G-Advanced networks can be set up to balance performance and coverage. This also plays to the demand requirements for 5G networks in serving lower latency use cases: wide area coverage, adaptable for AI, and deterministic. The situation in China is in some ways more pressing than other countries on account of the rapid take-up of 5G in numbers and usage. Data usage per 5G customer will rise from 13 to 54 GB per month by 2030 (or 23% per year), faster than subscriber growth of 11%, implying a higher usage intensity as people use more bandwidth-heavy apps.

China is likely to license millimeter wave spectrum at some point in 2024, though the allocation amounts – which will have an impact on capacity – are not yet known. If the allocation does go ahead, China would be the most prominent country on the 2024 calendar for a millimeter wave release, joining the 50 countries that have already done so. It would also provide regulatory certainty to chipset makers and device OEMs to incorporate high-frequency spectrum in their portfolios, in turn driving scale economies to help reduce handset and other CPE costs. These are all positives to go alongside the product monetisation of operators using this type of 5G network. We would expect to see other operators consider this deployment model for 5G-Advanced where spectrum holdings permit, even if that is at the local or regional level rather than on a national scale. 

Analyst Insights: Unveiling the 2024 Global Mobile Trends 2024 report – full recording and slides

Catch the on-demand recording of our exclusive unveiling of the latest insights are shaping mobile and telecom landscape.

What Was Discussed?

Key themes from the report: This Global Mobile Trends report examines the biggest developments expected in 2024. These include #5G’s next wave; the impact of #generativeAI; 5G-Advanced; new experiences from 5G-enabled services such as #FWA; the future of entertainment; #cloud and edge compute; private wireless; #eSIM; the rise of #satellites ; and #sustainability strategies.

Panel discussion: Industry Perspectives: Gain valuable insights from industry leaders as they discuss the implications of these trends for businesses, consumers, and the wider industry, offering a future-focused lens on innovation and growth.

Featured Speakers:

Harrison Lung, Group Chief Strategy Officer, e& Group

Ivan Ostojić, Chief Business Officer, Infobip

Aniruddho Basu, EVP, Emerging Business, Partnerships & Channels, Mavenir

Robin Harwani, Head of Global Industry Solutions, AWS

This session was filmed at #MWC24 and hosted by GSMA Intelligence, the research and consulting arm of the GSMA.

Global Mobile Trends 2024 Report can be downloaded here https://data.gsmaintelligence.com/research/research/research-2024/global-mobile-trends-2024 | The report is available to all with a free public account.

Thanks to our sponsors AWS, Kigen, Vodafone and European Space Agency who made this report possible.

Energy Efficiency Benchmark – Recording and Slides

Recording of GSMA Intelligence’s energy efficiency benchmark launch at #mwc24, including experts from Nokia, Turkcell, Telenor, Ericsson and McKinsey & Company. You can access the energy benchmark report here.

Agenda:

Opening Presentation (10 min) from GSMA Intelligence

Panel Discussion (20 min) with Nokia, Ericsson, Telenor and Turkcell

Fireside (15 min) from GSMA Intelligence and McKinsey & Company

What is the benchmark?

GSMA Intelligence launched its Mobile Energy Efficiency Benchmarking project in 2020. The benchmark relies on fully anonymised, real-world data inputs to quantify network energy consumption, efficiency levels, and fuel sources. Operator participation has steadily increased each year, resulting in a unique, globally relevant dataset on energy efficiency. The project has uncovered previously unmeasured data points and provided insights into sustainability trends, technologies, and best practices.

GSMA Intelligence acknowledges the 17 operator groups that participated in the project, contributing data from 65 networks across 59 countries. These operators, serving nearly 1.6 billion mobile connections globally, actively engaged in workshops and provided valuable insights for the report, representing 19% of total cellular connections worldwide.

Slides from Tim Hatt

Featured speakers:

Tim Hatt, Head Of Research & Consulting, GSMA Intelligence

Emanuel Kolta, Lead Analyst, Network Sustainability and Innovation, GSMA Intelligence

Francesca Sartori, Head of Sustainability Research and Standardization, Nokia

Noelia Lopez, Marketing Director – Sustainability & Energy Performance, Ericsson

Ferry Christiaan Grijpink, Partner, McKinsey & Company

Nemanja Vucevic, Partner, McKinsey & Company

Yildiray Orenekli, Network Infrastructure Associate Director, Turkcell

Johannes Bjelland, Senior Researcher, Telenor Group

Sustainability Summit at MWC24 – Full recording and slides

The sustainability summit hosted by GSMA Intelligence invited industry experts to explore energy efficiency, sustainability, and circularity. Access the full three-hour recording and accompanying slides from the Sustainability Summit.

Jump directly to each section: 00:00:00 GSMA Intelligence Introduction 00:17:13 Arm Keynote 00:41:09 Sustainable Networks Innovation Panel 01:17:40 XH Smart Keynote 01:30:20 Circularity and Digital Transformation Panel 02:08:36 Nokia Panel 02:32:35 Dell Technologies and Intel Fireside

Energy efficiency, sustainability, and circularity have emerged as critical focal points in today’s telecommunications landscape. With operational expenses still heavily burdened by energy costs, operators and partners face a ripe opportunity to drive down costs and enhance profits.

The sustainability summit hosted by GSMA Intelligence invited industry experts to explore:
Network level innovations in energy efficiency
Services strategies for reducing costs and growing revenues through green products
The changing role of analytics and AI
The circular economy
Reporting and alignment on KPIs
Partnerships in the supply chain

Access the full three-hour recording and accompanying slides from the Sustainability Summit. For further information about upcoming summits and how to get involved please contact us using the form.

Featured Speakers:

Peter Jarich, Head of GSMA Intelligence, GSMA Intelligence
Manish Singh, CTO Telecom Systems Business, Dell Technologies
Subho Mukherjee, VP, Global Head of Sustainability, Nokia
Maya Ormazabal, Environment & Human Rights Director, Telefónica
Dr. Ali Taha Koç, CEO, Turkcell
Harrison Lung, Group Chief Strategy Officer, e& Group
Cristina Rodriguez, VP GM Wireless Access, Intel Corporation
Eehou Lim, Chief Technology Officer, XH Smart
Panch Chandrasekaran, Carrier Infrastructure Lead, Arm
Eddie Ramirez, VP, Marketing, Infrastructure Line of Business, Arm
Steven Moore, Head of Climate Action, GSMA
Kyriakos Exadaktylos, Head of Network Architecture Specifications & Energy Performance, Vodafone Group
Micaela Giuhat, Director, Emerging Technologies, Government Affairs, Microsoft
Aleyn Smith-Gillespie, Director, Carbon Trust
Sabri Albreiki, CTO, e& International
Bill Pfeifer, Edge Portfolio Messaging Director, Dell Technologies

Satellite and NTN Summit at MWC24 – Full recording and slides

The Satellite and NTN Summit at MWC 2024, showcased the latest advancements and innovations driving the satellite industry forward, with discussions on satellite deployment strategies, partnership formations, regulatory landscapes, and technological advancements and much more.

Panel discussions covered strategic collaborations between satellite and telecommunications sectors, technical innovations driving the industry’s evolution, and the future outlook for satellite-telco partnerships. From exploring new use cases to forecasting commercialisation timelines, the summit provided invaluable insights into the trajectory of the satellite industry.

Access the full three-hour recording and accompanying slides from the Satellite and NTN Summit. For further information about upcoming summits and how to get involved please contact us using the form.

Featured speakers:

Tim Hatt, Head Of Research & Consulting, GSMA Intelligence

Ken Peterman, President & CEO, Comtech

Fran Bogle, Chief Revenue Officer, ORBCOMM

Libby Barr, Chief Operating Officer, Avanti

Anirban Chakraborty, CTO, Comtech

Amina Boubendir, Head of Research and Standardisation, Airbus Defence and Space

Tamer Kadous, VP, Terrestrial Networks, Globalstar

Antonio Franchi, Head of 5G/6G NTN Programme Office, European Space Agency

Dave Roscoe, Executive Vice President, Satellite Communications and Products, ORBCOMM

Matt Botwin, Principal, DLA Piper, LLP

Piotr Wesolowski, Senior Manager Space Partnerships, Deutsche Telekom AG

Maxime Flament, Chief Technology Officer, 5G Automotive Association (5GAA)

Bee Hayes-Thakore, VP, Marketing, Kigen

Brett Tarnutzer, Director, Satellite Policy, SpaceX

John Janka, Chief Officer, Global Government Affairs & Regulatory, Viasat

Natalia Vicente, Vice President Public Affairs, GSOA

Marc Rouanne, Executive Vice President & Chief Network Officer, DISH Wireless

MWC24 – All Slides from GSMA Intelligence Sessions

GSMA Intelligence ran 4 sessions on Wednesday 28th February during MWC Barcelona 2024.

Below you can find the slide decks for the sessions.

Satellite and NTN Summit

Sustainability Summit

Global Trends Launch

Energy Efficiency Benchmark Launch

All content is owned by GSMA Intelligence and not to be shared without permission.

Sustainability Summit – Photo Gallery

Photos from the Sustainability Summit hosted by GSMA Intelligence at MWC Barcelona 2024.

Slides presented by Peter Jarich (GSMA Intelligence) can be found here.

Featured speakers:

Peter Jarich, Head of GSMA Intelligence, GSMA Intelligence

Manish Singh, CTO Telecom Systems Business, Dell Technologies

Subho Mukherjee, VP, Global Head of Sustainability, Nokia

Maya Ormazabal, Environment & Human Rights Director, Telefónica

Dr. Ali Taha Koç, CEO, Turkcell

Harrison Lung, Group Chief Strategy Officer, e& Group

Cristina Rodriguez, VP GM Wireless Access, Intel Corporation

Eehou Lim, Chief Technology Officer, XH Smart

Panch Chandrasekaran, Carrier Infrastructure Lead, Arm

Eddie Ramirez, VP, Marketing, Infrastructure Line of Business, Arm

Steven Moore, Head of Climate Action, GSMA

Kyriakos Exadaktylos, Head of Network Architecture Specifications & Energy Performance, Vodafone Group

Micaela Giuhat, Director, Emerging Technologies, Government Affairs, Microsoft

Aleyn Smith-Gillespie, Director, Carbon Trust

Sabri Albreiki, CTO, e& International

Bill Pfeifer, Edge Portfolio Messaging Director, Dell Technologies

Satellite and NTN Summit – Photo Gallery

Photos from the Satellite and NTN Summit at MWC Barcelona 2024.

The full recording and slides can be found here.

Featured speakers:

Tim Hatt, Head Of Research & Consulting, GSMA Intelligence

Ken Peterman, President & CEO, Comtech

Fran Bogle, Chief Revenue Officer, ORBCOMM

Libby Barr, Chief Operating Officer, Avanti

Anirban Chakraborty, CTO, Comtech

Amina Boubendir, Head of Research and Standardisation, Airbus Defence and Space

Tamer Kadous, VP, Terrestrial Networks, Globalstar

Antonio Franchi, Head of 5G/6G NTN Programme Office, European Space Agency

Dave Roscoe, Executive Vice President, Satellite Communications and Products, ORBCOMM

Matt Botwin, Principal, DLA Piper, LLP

Piotr Wesolowski, Senior Manager Space Partnerships, Deutsche Telekom AG

Maxime Flament, Chief Technology Officer, 5G Automotive Association (5GAA)

Bee Hayes-Thakore, VP, Marketing, Kigen

Brett Tarnutzer, Director, Satellite Policy, SpaceX

John Janka, Chief Officer, Global Government Affairs & Regulatory, Viasat

Natalia Vicente, Vice President Public Affairs, GSOA

Marc Rouanne, Executive Vice President & Chief Network Officer, DISH Wireless