By John Giere
It Is Possible!
A recent survey of mobile operators globally found that 27% of the 41 operators surveyed will deploy 5G SA within 12-18 months with a further 10% within 24 months. With the maturity of 3GPP standards, such as the Release 16 freeze in March 2020, operators now see a clear path to 5G SA infrastructure. The overall timeline is supported by a total of 49% of operators who plan to deploy 5G SA within the next 4 years.
Responses to the survey reveal that operators choose different strategies when it comes to the edge. About 85% of operators are planning edge deployments at some point, but more than half of the operators in the survey have no strategy for doing so. Approximately 32% are going only with limited, specific-use cases such as smart factories, smart cities, or retail, while others are holding off until the business case for edge deployment becomes more viable.
Originally published on isemag.com August 1, 2020