Verizon 5G Business Report
5G as the Enterprise Accelerator:
Key Impacts and Industries
Speed, advanced performance, and stability seen as 5G accelerators for business transformation.
As businesses look to transform following a challenging 2020 in large part due to COVID-19, their ability to adapt to and leverage new technologies is critical. To understand the role of 5G technology and its use cases that are both being implemented today and are valuable in driving businesses forward, Verizon Business commissioned a nationwide survey of 700 technology decision-makers. The survey crossed a variety of industries including Sports/Entertainment/Media, Government/Public Sector, Healthcare, Manufacturing, and Retail.
Conducted by Morning Consult, the survey examined awareness, current adoption, potential use cases and barriers to entry for 5G across the enterprise.
“Over the last year, 5G has become top-of-mind for businesses as they manage through condensed digital transformation timelines. These findings underscore the critical role 5G will play in economic recovery and growth, and we stand committed and ready to help our partners make that transition quickly and seamlessly.”
Tami Erwin
CEO of Verizon Business.
Key impacts
5G awareness and belief in its business impact is high
Among those polled, there is strong awareness and an overwhelming belief that 5G networks and devices will have a transformative impact on business.
Stats
- Most business decision-makers say they have heard “a lot” about 5G (55%) versus one in five general population adults when asked the same question (23%)
- Seven in 10 believe 5G will help their company overcome the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (69%)
- Almost half (48%) of decision-makers say their company has already provided, or is planning to provide, a 5G-capable smartphone or device to employees within the next six months
- 76% of respondents say that mobile edge computing (MEC) is important to their company
- Decision-makers largely agree that 5G will create new opportunities for their company (80%), their industry (79%), and their role (79%)
Industry Impacts
Sports, Entertainment and Media
Widespread adoption of 5G in this sector will most likely drive increased consumer interest.
Stats
- In rethinking the live event experience, 78% indicated that leveraging 5G to incorporate augmented and virtual reality experiences would be of value
- Similarly, 66% saw making virtual live events through AR and VR like the in-person experience as a valuable use case of 5G
- More than half of technology decision-makers in the industry (52%) indicated that 5G planning and adoption is a top priority for C-level leaders at their organization
Government/Public Sector
The industry sees the 5G’s most valuable application supporting the information and data transfers of first responders in the field.
Stats
- 74% saw real-time video to monitor crowds and increase safety as a valuable impact of 5G, and 70% viewed faster data transfers to and from first responders as they get to and from emergency sites as a benefit of 5G
- 36% felt that 5G would have a transformational impact on cybersecurity
Healthcare
In the health sector, health insurers, doctors and hospitals are deploying telemedicine systems to cut costs and improve medical care.
Stats
- More than three in four technology decision-makers in healthcare said 5G will change how their organization interacts with customers (78%)
- Decision-makers in healthcare view use of remote health monitoring devices (81%) as the most valuable application of 5G in their industry, while use of mobile networks for high-quality telemedicine is viewed as the application that respondents believe their organization is most likely to implement, interact with, or respond to in the next two years (78%)
- Operational efficiency (75%) was named as the area in which 5G will have the most noticeable impact for respondents’ organizations
Manufacturing
Our factories are expected to be drastically different within two years, with real-time inventory and production capacity powered by 5G.
Stats
- Supporting system automation ranked highest amongst all industries and specific use cases for 5G deployment (49%) by manufacturing respondents
- Real-time supply chain tracking from shipment to shelves to combat theft and fraud while responding to inventory demands ranked highest in terms of sector specific benefits (88%) and tied with real-time tracking of capacity and production in terms of likelihood of being deployed in next two years (82%)
Retail
A majority of retailers agree that 5G is critical for market competitiveness.
Stats
- 77% of retail respondents indicated that businesses that do not adopt 5G technology will fall behind their peers
- 80% felt that giving customers the ability to shop from anywhere using AR and VR via 5G would be a valuable use case
- Enhancing wireless internet speed and reliability (60%) was named the top priority for usage of 5G
