5G is poised to provide a major boost to the market, which will contribute significantly to the growth of the IoT and fixed wireless access segments. According to Juniper Research, telecommunications operators will generate an additional $17 billion in revenue from 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project)-compliant 5G satellite networks between 2024 and 2030.
At the same time, 6G networks are being prepared: 6G connections are predicted to reach 290 million worldwide within two years of launch, but only if carriers solve network interference issues.
read more: Indian fintech fundraising in July surpasses last year’s benchmark for third consecutive month
“Operators need to consider not only 5G satellite services when selecting SNO partners, but also future plans for 6G networks, including coverage and throughput capabilities,” said study author Sam Barker.
Carriers should consider not only 5G satellite services when selecting SNO partners, but also future plans for 6G networks, including coverage and throughput capabilities.
Solutions come from AI and can help limit carrier revenue leakage due to 5G roaming connections to $118 million by 2024, according to the study.
5G Advanced & 5G Red Cap
According to a Juniper Research report, carriers are expected to generate $400 billion in service revenue from 5G networks in 2024, representing a 32% compound annual growth rate from 2023. However, the report predicts that once 5G adoption reaches saturation among consumers, it will be imperative for carriers to launch services on 5G networks that provide value to enterprise IoT users.
To achieve this, two key emerging 5G technologies that will impact operators’ ability to attract high-spending IoT users are 5G Advanced and 5G RedCap (Reduced Capacity), which will enable operators to offer enterprise users services such as expanded coverage, improved network efficiency, and longer device battery life.
These technologies will help grow IoT sectors such as automotive and mobile broadband, and are poised to revolutionize areas such as smart libraries. The report predicts that there will be more than 360 million 5G IoT devices using public networks by 2028, a significant increase from 35 million in 2024.
They also identified Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) as the area that would benefit most from these services, due to the volume of traffic they would generate. FWA leverages cellular networks to provide internet connectivity to other devices, often over Wi-Fi.
FWA has always been positioned as a key service for monetizing 5G networks, but the advent of 5G Advanced and 5G RedCap will enable carriers to offer network conditions similar to those of fixed network service providers, and carriers will need to leverage their existing billing relationships with consumers to promote their FWA solutions.
“FWA has always been positioned as a key service for monetizing 5G networks, but the advent of 5G Advanced and 5G RedCap will enable operators to offer network conditions similar to fixed network service providers. Operators will need to leverage their existing billing relationships with consumers to promote their FWA solutions,” said Sam Barker, co-author of the study.
6G and RIS
6G has big hopes: it is reportedly on track to reach 290 million connections worldwide by 2030, one year after its originally planned 2029 launch. But first, the challenge of network interference resulting from the use of high-frequency spectrum gases must be overcome.
6G’s use of high frequency spectrum will be a key technology that will enable throughput speeds 100 times faster than current 5G networks. However, because cellular technology has never used this range of spectrum bands before, the most pressing concern for carriers is minimizing this network interference or risk creating unreliable 6G networks.
The solution is Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS), a technology that reduces the impact that interference from large obstacles such as buildings has on network services by intentionally reflecting and refracting 6G mobile signals, allowing data packets to avoid physical obstacles.
Initial 6G coverage will be deployed in the most densely populated areas to serve as many users as possible, so RIS technology will be key to delivering valuable 6G services to both consumer and enterprise customers during the first few years of network operation.
At the same time, given the large geographic coverage of some 6G networks, operators will need to leverage AI to monitor and adjust RIS configurations in real time to maximize the benefits of the technology.
“Initial 6G coverage will be rolled out in the most densely populated areas to serve as many users as possible, so RIS technology will be key to delivering valuable 6G services to both consumers and enterprise customers in the first few years of network operation,” said study author Alex Webb.
AI-Based Segmentation
In fact, AI-based segmentation also helps reduce the average revenue leakage per 5G roaming connection from $1.72 to $1.20. Revenue leakage refers to the value of services provided but not monetized. This approach allows operators to reduce 5G standalone revenue leakage through improved resource allocation and new pricing to reflect higher quality of service. The difference is that 5G standalone networks leverage 5G core while 5G non-standalone relies on 4G infrastructure.
Read more: The CrowdStrike incident is a warning that diversity in internet provider services is a good idea
AI-based segmentation enables operators to more effectively monetize new roaming services by using machine learning models to detect and differentiate traffic types and segments in real time.
“AI-based segmentation will differentiate enterprise traffic by use case, enabling premium charging for mission-critical 5G standalone connections and reducing revenue leakage,” said study author Alex Webb.
