There are two camps emerging in the industry regarding the development of 5G technology — one that believes 5G will soon become as important to the digital world as “oxygen is for life,” while another expressed reservation and sought to hamper lofty expectations of the future of the technology, reports CNBC.
At this week’s Mobile World Congress, voices from across the industry convened to talk about the future and 5G technology in particular. “We think that 5G is going to really give birth to a ubiquitous global digital economy,” said Orange CEO Stéphane Richard during a panel discussion.
“So 5G will be a hybrid network that will mix telecoms and IT products. Thanks to these technical features, 5G will be the answer to meet all specific needs as it brings connectivity that will become as important to our digital world as oxygen is for life,” said Richard, according to CNBC. Continue Reading
Recently, Qualcomm commissioned a study that 5G technology could trigger economic growth of $3 trillion dollars from 2020 to 2035. But others expressed skepticism over these heightened expectations, particularly due to the large amount of capital telecom companies must invest to bring 5G to fruition.
Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries said telecom operators may not be willing to invest such large amounts of capital into the technology, particularly due to the fact that revenue has decreased across the telecom industry in the past few years. “We think 5G is actually at crossroads, it’s not predestined,” Fries said. [I]t requires massive investment and that investment may or may not be forthcoming if the environment we operate doesn’t become healthier.”
March 2, 2017
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