As 5G continues to deploy globally, the focus now shifts to how 5G, artificial intelligence and the internet of things will be monetized. What are the 5G value propositions and business models for consumers, enterprises and service providers?
And there is a reason Jefferson Wang, Accenture Global 5G Strategy Lead, believes those three technologies cannot be separated.
Retail connectivity service providers of the future will have to exchange their “connection services” model for a different new model where they have become “platforms,” argues Jefferson Wang, Accenture Global 5G Strategy Lead.
Connectivity providers also become significant value chain suppliers of internet of things experiences incorporating a healthy dose of artificial intelligence to maximize the potential of 5G. Wang will explain how 5G, IoT and artificial reality are related to service provider success at PTC’21.
To start, if immersive, “everywhere” experiences are supported, it seems clear that 5G and other untethered platforms will have to play a key role, but in an open ecosystem, where incentives for partners are clear.
“The future home in the 5G Era will harmonize network connectivity, devices, platform solutions and data to seamlessly predict customer needs and extend the boundaries of where we live, making us feel at home anywhere,” Wang says.
What is “home,” and what does our definition mean for suppliers of communications services?
Retail communications service providers (who sell to end users) will need to evolve their vertically-integrated service provider model, says Wang. “To stay relevant in the digital daily routines of their customers, they will set themselves up as a multi-sided platform orchestrating and coordinating the “future home.”
But note the new definition of “home.”
The traditional notion of home as a static shelter will soon be entirely replaced by the new consumer mindset of “at home is everywhere.” For retail connectivity providers, that has implications for survival and business models.
Historically accustomed to delivering connectivity, most are still far from prepared to be the primary managers and traffic wardens of data flows for humans in the “future home.” Just controlling data infrastructure, as they have done for decades in their traditional role, will not suffice, Wang believes.
Instead, access providers will have to assemble an ecosystem of partners.
And the “future home” shows why IoT is crucial. “Anything that means home to us–from our favorite room temperature and air quality to our preferred light shades, entertainment and education suites, fitness and health devices, door security features and refrigerator contents–will very soon be emulated in outstanding quality “wherever we go,” Wang says.
That means IoT sensors and actuators will have to be ubiquitous, and increasingly supported by artificial intelligence capabilities.
And mobility–especially using 5G and successive generations of mobile networks–will be key, as the “envelope” must follow people outdoors, in their vehicles or when traveling and staying at remote locations.
“Our home will turn into an envelope wrapped around us throughout the day,” he says.
