Enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB). This is an extension of 4G and the capabilities are similar; the first wave of commercial 5G deployments were carried out in a conservative way that was closer to 4G with slightly better download performance. The only difference from LTE is the use of 5G NR.
Fixed-wireless access (FWA) is an important new 5G use case because it will enable network operators to deliver ultra-high-speed broadband to suburban and rural areas, where fibre is expensive to lay and maintain. mmWave 5G can provide the same user performance as fibre to the home (FTTH), but the distance and building penetration limitations of mmWave will require operators to deploy fibre to the curb (FTTC) and some in-building routing via Wi-Fi or internal coax. C-band is much easier to use for FWA and many operators are taking this approach despite the fact it is not a full fibre replacement.
Cloud gaming. Gaming is a big market that could shift toward mobile with 5G performance. Network operators will work with cloud-based gaming partners to enhance the value of 5G connectivity plans. The cloud-gaming market will be worth USD14.5 billion worldwide by 2024, or just over 6% of the total USD230 billion digital gaming market.
Industrial use cases: 5G is likely to have its most significant impact on manufacturing and other businesses.
Private 5G networks. These new networks are built specifically for the private use of a government or an enterprise. Such networks are most commonly deployed on a single site (for example, in a factory or a mine). They can also be deployed to address wide-area network requirements, such as a utility’s need to monitor a transmission network. Currently, most private cellular networks deploy LTE technology, but 5G adoption is growing as enterprises prioritise support for key capabilities such as low latency, high bandwidth and device density.
5G and IoT. Adoption of 5G in IoT will be slower than in the mass-market smartphone business. IoT devices are not yet widely available and are costly but more importantly few IoT applications require the high-bandwidth, low-latency attributes of 5G. The 5G IoT market will develop slowly in three phases:
enhancing existing deployments such as public surveillance
enabling connected vehicles – there are 1 billion cars worldwide
establishing private 5G networks for IoT applications.