5G commercialisation goes beyond the service propositions that contribute to a telco’s bottom line. STL Partners considers the following four factors to be foundational to 5G monetisation:
- Value-adding service propositions, specifically those built on top of network connectivity (5G), that can be commercialised (Services)
- A network architecture that can deliver the features and flexibility demanded by such propositions (Network/OSS)
- IT/BSS to facilitate provisioning of such services and to support a leading customer experience and 5G commercialisation (IT/BSS)
- The organisation and culture to sustain continuous innovation and coordinated efforts (Organisation)
As recent STL reports on 5G commercialisation and monetisation have shown, early 5G commercial deployments have relied on propositions that focus on “legacy” telco services. 5G smartphone and data plans and fixed wireless access propositions have been a primary focus for 5G commercialisation efforts to date, though some telcos are starting to shift towards “new” propositions, particularly in the enterprise segment, where edge computing and private network solutions are becoming more prevalent.
The true monetisation potential of 5G commercial deployments lies in the telco ability to respond to customer needs and expectations shaped by their interactions with the likes of hyperscalers and other software-centric service providers. Telcos must be able to participate in complex value chains and ecosystems in order to extract the maximum revenue unlocked by 5G.
STL Partners coverage and analysis
We endeavour to shed light on each of the underlying foundations to help telcos transition to this “new” world of 5G commercialisation:
- Services: Research on consumer and enterprise 5G propositions, including Verizon 5G commercial services, shows how telcos are making progress on their 5G commercialisation journey (e.g. Monetising 5G with consumers: What are the options?, SK Telecom’s journey in commercialising 5G) ;
- Network/ OSS: The Telco Cloud and Network Futures research streams support the development of cloud native, accessible and instructible networks that can support innovative and complex 5G services (see our Telco Cloud Manifesto);
- IT/BSS: A new webinar on Driving innovative 5G monetization and user management will expose the processes and capabilities (IT/BSS) required to commercialise 5G (click the link to register);
- Organisation: Our Transformation research stream continues to promote organizational thinking and practices to secure new, innovation-oriented ways of working (e.g. Driving the agility fly wheel: The stepwise journey to agile, How mobile operators can build winning 5G business models)