5G: What’s the Channel Opportunity?

With 5G operators restricted in what they can offer businesses, is there a chance for channel partners to step up?

2020 is being touted as the year of 5G, with more operators set to switch on their next generation networks in the coming months.

5G is expected to enable faster speeds and connect approximately 1 million devices per square kilometre. Research company GlobalData estimates that, by 2024, more than a quarter of all data traffic will be carried over 5G, up from less than 1 percent in 2019.

Of interest to the channel is the expected impact of 5G on business. According to a report by GSMA Intelligence, 5G will become the first generation in the history of mobile to have a bigger impact on the enterprise than consumers. It also forecasts that private enterprise networks will explode and become a competition battleground between telcos and cloud companies.

Disconnect with Telcos

So what is the opportunity for the channel when it comes to 5G?

A good starting point is a 2019 study by global consulting firm Accenture, which suggests that both business and technology executives are underestimating the disruptive potential of the technology. Moreover, nearly three in four businesses say they need help imagining the future possibilities and use cases of 5G, indicating there may indeed be a role for channel partners to help their customers cut through the hype and better understand the benefits – and challenges – of the technology.

Similarly, a recently released report by BearingPoint//Beyond, found that telcos are failing to come up with the business-focused solutions that will be vital to 5G’s commercial success.

The research suggests a major disconnect between what operators want to sell when it comes to 5G – connectivity and hardware – versus what business customers want to buy, which is sophisticated, complete solutions made up of multiple technologies, including 5G.

BearingPoint’s Angus Ward

“Businesses want to buy 5G; CSPs want to sell 5G. The problem is that CSPs want to just sell connectivity and standardized ‘connectivity plus infrastructure’ products, while businesses want to buy more sophisticated, complete solutions that better fit their needs and require the integration of multiple technologies from multiple players,” said Angus Ward, CEO of BearingPoint//Beyond, who is based in London.

Developing Skills

There appear to be several existing areas of expertise that partners can develop and apply to 5G.

Ireland-based 4site, part of the Indigo Telecom Group, helps its wireless customers as they commence rollout of 5G technologies.

“All of the key skills, from survey and design through to property negotiation and structural analysis, are the key factors for rolling out new technologies such as 5G by our customers,” Eoin Callaghan, 4site 5G solution architect, told Channel Futures.

“From our perspective, rolling out 5G technology is similar to the way that all wireless technologies are rolled out in that they require extensive working with our customers to define the design rules and guidelines on how the network is to be deployed in the most economical manner with the least impact on the existing site configuration.”

Elsewhere, Colin Knox, head of community engagement at SolarWinds MSP, says 5G creates a need for …

From https://mymarketlogic.com/blog/5g-whats-the-channel-opportunity/

from
https://marketlogic0.wordpress.com/2020/03/10/5g-whats-the-channel-opportunity/