“How far we have come …”
As the 5G core network vendor of choice for all of the big three operators in Australia, plus Spark in New Zealand, Ericsson is at the heart of the future direction of mobile network infrastructure and the inevitable push towards virtualisation which is transforming how network services are deployed and managed – and how AI and automation will make operators more efficient in doing this.
Uniquely, Ericsson began sales in Australia in 1890 through its agent C A Fahlstedt in Sydney. “Telephone sales were very successful, and during the 1890s Australia became one of Ericsson’s largest markets outside Europe,” Ericsson Australia and New Zealand managing director Emilio Romeo told W.Media. “In fact, in 1900, sales in Australia were greater than in Sweden.”
“It’s truly inspiring to see how far we have come. From the early days of basic connectivity to the current era of 5G, the progress has been phenomenal,” he added.
Romeo believes that 5G, particularly with the arrival of Standalone networks, is now on a trajectory to become critical infrastructure for all industries and public services. “Ericsson is powering 32 out of 49 Live 5G Standalone networks globally,” he said.
Romeo said four key transformational developments are emerging across different markets. The first is the nationwide deployment of 5G Standalone. “5G Standalone unlocks the true capability of 5G by managing all 5G traffic through a dedicated 5G core network,” he said. “Secondly, there is great momentum in API commercialisation which is backed by GSMA.”
Telstra recently partnered with Vonage – Ericsson’s network Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) aggregator unit – to work together to identify and bring new open APIs to market, such as slicing, edge computing, fraud and spam protections and network analytical insights.
“Thirdly, is 5G for Consumers,” he said. “Leading operators are launching differentiated services using 5G Network Slicing. Some examples include Singtel who in 2022 offered priority video streaming to their consumers at F1. Very recently they took it to next level and deployed application-based network slicing technology. Until now, slicing technology has only been available via subscriber lines, it was quite constrained, now with this advancement, we can bring it directly to users so they can select by application and can now also offer to content creators who can select this, providing new value to users and consumers.”
He said the fourth area is Industry 4.0. “An example is the Port of Tyne in the UK which has embraced Private 5G to transform it into a smarter port,” said Romeo. “They have deployed a 4G/5G private network across the entire estate which is being used for remote crane operations, connected drones with XR to improve efficiency and enhance safety.”
AI changes everything
Romeo believes that in the coming 5 to 10 years, we will see an acceleration of major global trends such as digitalisation, electrification, and automation. “These trends will not progress sufficiently unless they fully leverage mobility, cloud and AI,” he said. “Let’s look at Generative AI as an example. It has the potential to transform industries across the board by revolutionising various aspects of business operations, and customer experiences.”
“If you think about manufacturing, GenAI can optimise product design, production processes, and supply chain management,” he said. A recent example is BMW North America, who used our GenAI platform to collect and analyse its enterprise data resulting in 30-40% productivity surge,” he said.
He agrees GenAI will bring efficiency, cost savings and faster time-to-market of new services – but without connectivity, AI and cloud cannot be deployed at scale.
New business horizons emerging for telcos
Romeo told W.Media he sees several distinct business horizons emerging in the market as 5G becomes more widely available. Service providers worldwide are actively exploring and experimenting with new offerings and go-to-market models across all four horizons.
The first phase of monetisation for 5G, he believes, is enhanced mobile broadband and fixed wireless (FWA). Australia is already one of the leading countries to adopt 5G FWA early in the journey. In February NBN Co announced it will become the first operator to deploy Ericsson’s extended range mmWave functionality – offering current capability up to a range of 6.9 kilometres.
“Our ConsumerLab study uncovered that, 1 in 3 households in Australia show interest in FWA,” he said. Romeo identified differentiated connectivity solutions as an emerging opportunity. “This could manifest as offering a private network to enterprises or utilising the network slicing capabilities to offer differentiated service to consumers or enterprises,” he said.
Once these elements are in place and the ability to expose and program networks is available, Romeo believes it opens up the potential to access new value opportunities, allowing application developers to innovate on a large scale. This is the fourth business horizon.
Making 5G profitable
With these seismic changes occurring on how homes and businesses consume telecom services, Romeo said that to monetise the opportunities, further innovation is required. The first will happen in the private 5G market for enterprises.
“Private 5G for enterprises can address common challenges faced by industries and governments,” said Romeo. “At MWC, enterprises expressed their desire for sustainable, cost-effective digital transformation to create new business value. They aim to enhance agility, operations, and decision-making to provide superior customer experiences.”
He added: “Sectors like mining, airports, and warehouses seek pre-packaged 5G networks for easier deployment and better performance. Some even envision future office networks relying entirely on public 5G for connectivity, regardless of location.”
“Globally, 5G is transforming industries by enabling more efficient and safer operations,” he added.
Making the network API Network APIs are giving application developers and enterprises access to the network’s unique capabilities. “This growing interest led to our acquisition of Vonage in 2022,” said Romeo. “We now have a CPaaS platform with a powerful ecosystem of more than one million application developers and we now want to partner with more operators to build this new ecosystem together.”
“We believe that a joint effort among CSPs and Ericsson/Vonage is the best way of ensuring a strategic role in the creation of service value for CSPs, as well as of rapid market growth, with reasonable and incremental investment,” he said. “At MWC this year, we announced new network capabilities for Vonage CPaaS platform. We see a good potential of this API in many markets including Australia.”
Network API was one of the strongest themes at MWC24 and GSMA is backing this heavily to drive innovation. 47 leading groups now signed up to the GSMA Open Gateway initiative. As more CSPs come on board and the ecosystem grows, we will see continued collaboration and innovation in this area.– network verification
Performance-based business models
According to Romeo performance-based business models enable differentiated connectivity offerings. “Telstra is pioneering a performance-based business model using Ericsson’s 5G Slicing technology,” he said. “Their mobility analytics engine monitors 5G slicing traffic to ensure customers receive the promised performance, billing only for fulfilled commitments. This model, supported by a McKinsey study, offers substantial monetisation potential for CSPs.”
Evolution to XR
Romeo said XR is the next paradigm shift after the smartphone, and he pointed out that many believe XR glasses will overtake the smartphone as the main device type in cellular networks long- term. The digital and physical world will intertwine with real-time digital representations, for example in digital twins and meetings with a sense of presence as if you were in the same room.
“Tech giants like Meta, Apple, and Microsoft are driving major investments in this area,” he said.
He believes the evolution to XR will occur in three phases. “Today, we are in the VR to AR phase with devices like Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest 3. The next phase will see AR take the lead with lighter, stylish AR glasses like the Vuzix Blade, used by frontline workers for hands-free access to data,” he said. “The final phase, all-day XR, will feature glasses worn all day, marking global adoption. Oppo's Air Glass 3, the world's lightest binocular AR glasses, debuted at MWC, showcasing the rapid pace of this transition.”
At the Interconnect World Convention, Sydney: 7th August 2024 at the Hilton, Sydney
Ericsson CEO and managing director ANZ Emilio Romeo will be delivering the keynote address titled “Understanding the importance of accelerating 5G industry adoption” at Interconnect World Sydney at the Hilton Hotel on 7 August 2024.
The inaugural event brings together the industry’s leading telcos, ISPs, IXs, TMT investors, government agencies along with key enterprise decision makers. These stakeholders will consider key technology and investment trends and address best practices in terms of the connectivity of digital infrastructure. To find out more and to register please
visit: https://interconnectworld.com/events/sydney-interconnect-world-2024/
[Author: Simon Dux]
This post was originally published on the 3rd party mentioned in the title ofthis site
