Huawei's 12th annual Global Mobile Broadband Forum (MBBF) kicked off in Dubai today with a keynote from Ken Hu, the company's Rotating Chairman.
"In just five years of commercial deployment, 5G has provided a considerable upgrade in mobile experience for consumers, and it's already starting to empower different industries around the globe. Progress was much faster than we expected, especially in terms of the subscriber base, network coverage, and the sheer number of 5G terminals on the market," said Ken Hu.
He talked about the three areas of opportunity that will drive the next stage of 5G's growth, including XR services, the B2B market, and low-carbon development.
Currently, there are 176 commercial 5G networks around the globe, serving more than 500 million subscribers. Average 5G download speeds are roughly 10 times greater than 4G, which has fueled broader adoption of applications like VR and 360 broadcasting. In the enterprise space, there are already 10,000 projects exploring B2B applications of 5G (5GtoB) around the world. 5G applications in industries like manufacturing, mining, and ports have already passed trial and are being replicated at scale.
"Right now, more than half of these 10,000 5GtoB projects are in China," added Hu. "We have a huge number of use cases already, but we need to build more sustainable business cases." He also discussed big changes that will have a long-term impact on the ICT industry, including accelerated digital transformation caused by the pandemic, how cloud and AI have become must-haves for all organizations, and how the world is taking climate change more seriously. "These trends provide many opportunities for our industry, but they also create some challenges. There are a few things we can do to get ready."
First, the industry needs to get networks, devices, and content ready for explosive growth in Extended Reality (XR). To support a smooth cloud-based XR experience, networks need to provide download speeds faster than 4.6 Gbit/s with latency no greater than 10 ms.
"Last year, we released our goals for 5.5G. And we believe they will help this challenge," added Hu. "To reach (the tipping point), we have to make improvements to both headsets and content. For headsets, people want devices that are smaller, lighter, and more affordable."
Second, telecom operators need to enhance their networks and develop new capabilities to get ready for 5GtoB. A strong network is key to 5G applications for industrial use, so operators need to keep making improvements to network capabilities such as uplink, positioning, and sensing. As industrial scenarios are much more complex than consumer scenarios, O&M can be a real challenge. To help, Huawei is developing autonomous networks that bring intelligence to all aspects of 5G networks, from planning and construction to maintenance and optimization.
Digital transformation also requires different roles. In addition to providing connectivity, operators can also serve as cloud service providers, system integrators, and more, and develop the requisite capabilities. To drive broader adoption of 5G in industries, developing industry-specific telecoms standards is also important. In China, operators, together with their industry partners, have begun working on standards for applying for 5G in industries like coal mining, steel, and electric power, and this has helped to fuel greater adoption within these sectors.
"Beyond technology, these are some of the intangible strengths that won't provide immediate profit, but will be key to long-term competitiveness in the 5GtoB market," added Hu.
Third, the industry needs to get ready to go green. According to the World Economic Forum, by 2030, digital technology can help reduce global carbon emissions by at least 15%. "On one hand, we have a great opportunity to help all industries cut emissions and improve power efficiency with digital technology," said Hu. "On the other hand, we have to recognize that our industry has a growing carbon footprint, and we have to take steps to improve that. Right now, Huawei is using new materials and algorithms to lower the power consumption of our products and we're remodeling sites and optimizing power management in our date centers for greater efficiency."
"We have seen so many changes in the past two years- with the pandemic, technology, business and the economy," concluded Hu. "Moving forward, as the world begins to recover, we need to recognize the opportunities in front of us and get ready for them. Get our technology ready, get our businesses ready, and our capabilities ready."
The Global Mobile Broadband Forum 2021 is hosted by Huawei, together with its industry partners GSMA and the SAMENA Telecommunications Council. The forum gathers mobile networks operaors, vertical industry leaders, and ecosystem partners from around the world to discuss how to maximize the potential of 5G and push the mobile industry forward.
More about MBBF2021 here.
0 comments:
Post a Comment