With stiff competition in the telecommunications space, along with eroding margins due to the presence of Over-the-Top (OTT) participants providing communication services, operators have been looking for additional revenue streams to boost both their top line and bottom line. Realizing this, we have published a study documenting the activities undertaken by operators in the region in terms of 5G. The study contains updates on 5G standards as well as the frequency and spectrum allocation differences among operators in different regions. As compared to 4G, operators have found that the mmWave spectrum for 5G offers much higher bandwidth than typical mid-band spectrum (1 to 6GHz). The additional features of 5G such as ultra-reliable, low-latency communications (URLLC) give operators the opportunity to offer new services to both enterprises and consumers.

The study also contains research on the progress of 5G implementation of major participants in the region. Our research has found that countries such as South Korea, Japan, and China are leading APAC in terms of 5G research and development, and most operators are looking for additional revenue streams that 5G can introduce. Among operators in APAC, the most popular use cases are on autonomous driving and augmented and virtual reality, both of which rely on the lower latency and higher bandwidth that 5G offers. It is expected that with 5G, B2B services will form the majority of additional services that operators introduce in the industry.

The time frame is from 2018 to 2025, of which the forecast period is from 2019 to 2025. Companies mentioned in this study include but are not limited to 2degrees, 3 UK, AIS, AT&T, Airtel, BSNL, Bharti Airtel, Celcom, China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom, DTAC, Dialog, EE, Ericsson, Globe, Huawei, Hutchinson Telecom, Indosat Ooredoo, KDDI, KT, LG U+, M1, Maxis, MobiFone, NTT DoCoMo, Nokia and ZTE, O2, Optus, PLDT Smart, Reliance Jio, SK Telecom, Singtel, Smart, Softbank, Spark, Sprint, StarHub, T-Mobile, Telkomsel, Telstra, TrueMoveH, Verizon, Viettel, Vinaphone, Vodafone, XL Axiata.

This study is based on primary interviews of mobile network operators and vendors in combination with extensive secondary research. It covers APAC trends compared against the global benchmarks of the US and the UK. Countries covered include South Korea, Japan, China, India, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

Key Issues Addressed
  •     What are updates on 5G standardization, frequency, and spectrum allocation as well as trials?
  •     When will 5G be available for rollout, and what is the optimum timing for 5G?
  •     How big will the market be for 5G?
  •     What are the more viable use cases for 5G? What are the prospects for business models and monetization of these use cases?
  •     Why should mobile operators implement 5G, and what is the best approach to deploying 5G?