5G business to reach $25B by 2028
AGLOBAL technology intelligence firm said revenues for 5G private network and 5G network slicing deployments in the AsiaPacific region will increase from $732 million and $151 million in 2022 to over $13 billion and $12 billion by 2028, respectively.
This, as the capabilities of 5G are starting to enable a range of applications, such as machine vision with artificial intelligence (AI) analysis from the cloud and realtime analysis of massive Internet of Things (IoT) connections.
“5G-to-Business applications have been shown to improve productivity and reduce costs for enterprises across different verticals,” says Matthias Foo, 5G markets industry analyst at ABI Research, a business and technology intelligence firm. “Beyond that, 5G enterprise deployments were also shown to reduce power consumption by improving equipment efficiency through data analytics and workplace safety with machine vision and AI.”
Within the private 5G cellular space, manufacturing is projected to be vertical with the highest revenue potential for 5G-to-Business applications in the Asia-Pacific region.
Key use cases utilize the capabilities of 5G to enable real-time robotic control for remote-controlled operations, autonomous vehicle operations, extended reality technology for training and support applications, and the collection of a large amount of sensor data for developing digital twins.
In the 5G network slicing domain, the logistics vertical is forecast to be the highest contributor to revenue. Key use cases for 5G adoption include vision-based inspections for autonomous and/ or remote-controlled operations, asset tracking, and smart transport applications.
While the 5G-to-Business market in Asia-Pacific is currently driven by several key countries, there continues to be a large opportunity for 5G-to-Business growth in the region.
“While the economic outlook in many regions has become more uncertain, 5G cellular coverage and innovations continue,” said Jake Saunders, vice president of Asia Pacific and research director for ABI Research’s 5G markets research service. “Those firms and countries implementing 5G-toBusiness applications are most likely to secure first mover advantages.”
5G network security: A $9-B opportunity
As for network security, the current macroeconomic and political global context has put increased pressure on 5G rollouts, slowing expectations for growth in the market compared to previous forecasts. Nonetheless, ABI Research forecasts the network security market to continue a steady upward, albeit slowed, trajectory to reach $9.2 billion by 2026.
“The criticality and resulting demand for security in 5G networks are undisputed,” said Michela Menting, telco cybersecurity research director at the global technology intelligence firm. “However, the persisting fallout of the global pandemic, with interrupted deployments of 5G, delays in spectrum auctions and the standardization from Release 16, continue to impact the market.”
Beyond that, current inflation and a potential recession in 2023 means mobile operators will face challenges for their future revenue streams (e.g., consumer spending), Operational Expenditure (OPEX) increases (e.g., energy prices driving up costs and increased price of upstream providers), and higher cost to borrow money (making investing harder).
This doesn’t negate the need for security technologies and services; it simply means those investments will take longer to materialize.
Nonetheless, ABI Research sees the opportunity for ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC) and massive machine type communications (mMTC) as highly promising from a security perspective compared to the security demand in enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) applications.
“On the contrary, this provides more time for stakeholders, notably mobile operators and network equipment providers, to plan for security monetization in the enterprise space in 5G telco cloud and services,” said Menting.
“They are faced with aggressive competition from hyperscalers and other new entrants, around which they will need to position themselves. As such, there is plenty of opportunity for the continued development of a lucrative and healthy security market in 5G.”