By the end of 2020, 7% of global communication service providers will launch 5G wireless services

Gartner, the world’s leading information technology research and consulting firm, predicts that global 5G wireless network equipment revenue will reach $4.2 billion in 2020, an increase of 89% from $2.2 billion in 2019.

In addition, Gartner also predicts that 5G NR network equipment investment will account for 6% of total wireless equipment investment by communication service providers (CSPs) in 2019, and this proportion will reach 12% by 2020 (see Table 1).

Gartner Senior Research Director Sylvain Fabre said: “From 2019 to 2020, 5G wireless network equipment revenue will nearly double. Communication service providers deploy 5G using a non-independent networking architecture in 2019. This technology realizes 5G. The hybrid networking of the new air interface (NR) equipment with the existing 4G core network infrastructure makes it relatively easy for communication service providers to launch 5G services faster than 4G.”

In 2020, some communication service providers will begin to deploy 5G using an independent networking architecture, which means that 5G NR devices and 5G core network devices need to be deployed at the same time. This will reduce the cost of the communication service provider and greatly improve the performance experience of the client.

Table 1. Global wireless device revenue forecast for 2018-2021 (in millions of US dollars)

Data may not match the total due to rounding.

Source: Gartner (August 2019)

5G network deployment will accelerate in 2020

In 2019 and 2020, many major cities will launch 5G services. Currently, some European countries such as the United States, South Korea, and Switzerland, Finland, and the United Kingdom have begun to provide this service. Communications service providers in Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Spain, Sweden, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have announced plans to accelerate the construction of 5G networks by 2020.

Gartner predicts that by the end of 2020, 7% of global communication service providers will launch wireless 5G network services.

Communication service providers will gradually pay attention to enterprise 5G services

Although consumers are the main market segment driving 5G development, communication service providers will gradually pay attention to 5G services for enterprises. The 5G network will help the mobile ecosystem expand into new industries such as smart factories, autonomous driving, telemedicine, agriculture and retail, and provide a dedicated network for industry users.

Equipment manufacturers believe that the industry user-specific network is a market segment with great potential. Mr. Fabre said: “The current 5G private network business is still in its infancy, but manufacturers, regulators and standards-setting organizations are ready. Germany has used the 3.7 GHz band for private networks, and Japan has reserved for private networks. The 1.9 GHz band. Ericsson’s solutions from communication service providers enable the construction of highly reliable, high-performance, and communications-secured private networks. A range of products developed by Nokia enables large industry organizations to directly invest in their own private networks.”

Mr. Fabre also said: “5G coverage in the local area will not be as fast as previous generations of wireless infrastructure. In order to maintain the average performance standard when expanding 5G, communication service providers need to target their existing 4G networks. Sexual strategic improvement measures to upgrade the 4G infrastructure around 5G coverage. If the 4G network close to the 5G base station is not upgraded and updated accordingly, when the user switches from 5G to 4G/LTE Advanced Pro, it will cause actual performance problems. The user feels that there is a performance problem. The problem will be most prominent between 2019 and 2021, because during this period 5G will focus on hotspots and areas with high population density.”