How can CSPs monetize 5G

The advent of 5G technology is currently revolutionizing various industries by facilitating connected vehicles, smart cities, industry 4.0, connected health, and other immersive applications worldwide. Numerous businesses, particularly large tech companies, are developing value-added services that utilize 5G broadband to enhance operations and provide users with exceptional experiences.

Communication Service Providers (CSPs) must seize this opportunity to capitalize on 5G broadband by creating value-added services. This not only allows them to cater to mobile B2C customers but also enables them to diversify their business, establish predictability, and promptly respond to customer needs. Furthermore, it opens up avenues to target specific vertical markets and foster B2B and B2B2X ecosystems.

To thrive in this landscape, CSPs need to go beyond merely selling broadband and instead provide services that deliver tangible value, capitalizing on the enhanced speed and reliability of 5G in industries such as automobiles, utilities, and healthcare.

However, the challenge lies in the limitations imposed by legacy network infrastructure, hindering their progress. The growing demand for bandwidth is straining existing infrastructure, necessitating the migration to Software Defined Networks (SDNs) for improved network reliability. Additionally, Network Function Virtualization (NFV) enables the expansion of network capabilities. Addressing the legacy issue also calls for the implementation of a new service orchestration layer atop the network, offering an avenue to effectively monetize the capabilities of 5G.

Service orchestration entails the ability to create, oversee, and integrate diverse network elements into a marketable product for customers. Since the needs of different industries vary, the underlying services must be provisioned dynamically, adapting to changes in resilience, security, and routing capabilities. Communication Service Providers (CSPs) should possess reusable cloud-based services that can be easily deployed, packaged, and offered as tailored solutions for specific use cases within various sectors like Connected Health or Smart Cities.

By adopting a cloud-native approach, these services become portable, scalable, and more resilient compared to monolithic applications. They operate proactively and respond to events, automating business workflows and simplifying order tracking, failure management, fallout handling, and diagnostics for repairs.

For instance, within the realm of smart devices and IoT sensors, telecommunications companies (telcos) can develop applications that leverage IoT data from factories to provide asset monitoring, predictive maintenance, and enhanced sustainability. This empowers manufacturing customers with valuable insights to drive actionable decisions. Additionally, CSPs can collaborate with automobile manufacturers to create in-car commerce use cases, such as online ordering, in-car payments, and geofencing for curb-side pickups, seamlessly integrated within the infotainment systems.