FEATURE
TO PREVENT THE
INDUSTRY BEING
REDUCED TO A
COMMODITISED,
LOW-PROFIT
PIPELINE,
INVESTMENT IN
5G USE CASES
OUTLINED ABOVE
ARE ESSENTIAL.
security, where 5G will allow high-
definition image and facial recognition to
identify potential criminals in real-time,
empowering security teams to take
preventative action. 5G will also power
data-heavy augmented reality services
from enhanced gaming to medical image
visualisation and virtual training for high-
risk job roles such as oil rig maintenance.
This wide range of 5G use cases provides
the telco industry with an opportunity to
stake a claim in the new wireless value
chain. However, to truly understand the
scale of the opportunity, it’s important to
understand the complex set of challenges
faced by telcos. Revenues are flattening as
consumers demand more data at a static
cost. At the same time, core services such
as voice, messaging and video calls are
being eroded by ‘over the top’ players such
as Facebook, Apple and Google.
To prevent the industry being reduced
to a commoditised, low-profit pipeline,
investment in 5G use cases outlined above
are essential. For example, telcos can
position themselves as the backbone of
industrial IoT, using 5G to link sensors to
back-end services such as analytics.
Similarly, network operators could play a
critical role in Smart City infrastructure,
empowering self-regulating operations
such as intelligent traffic control.
However, upgrading the network for
5G presents a significant challenge.
In fact, industry analyst company 451
36
Issue 09
Research believes that ‘5G will be the
most impactful and difficult network
upgrade ever faced by the telecom
industry; it is part of the complex ‘Digital
Transformation’ movement encompassing
IT/network convergence and radical
changes in how software is created and
deployed. Those that can thrive in this
period of change will create a new class
of telecom operator with value-creation
capabilities that far exceed anything we’ve
seen in the past 100 years.’
So how will prefabricated modular
(PFM) data centres help?
To enable the promise of 5G, densification
of the network is critical. Cell towers
www.intelligentdatacentres.com