We’ve spoken to Simon Fort, Head of Mobile at 9 Group, about what the future of 5G holds.
What is your overall opinion on the 5G roll out?
It makes sense to launch in the major cities first where the benefits of 5G can be realised with greater numbers of people. 5G delivers higher data speeds and reduced network congestion in over populated areas.
Do you see it as a threat or an opportunity?
It’s a significant opportunity, giving smartphone users a genuine reason to upgrade their handset given that there has been very little innovation in the handset market of late. It’s also a significant opportunity for the channel to introduce new ways of tariffing and could also deliver potential new revenue streams.
5G has the potential to consume a ‘normal’ data allowance within minutes, so we’ll have to move away from traditional data bundles in order to service 5G customers adequately. Key for us will be how the networks support channel Partners to do maximise 5G revenues.
Do you forsee a time when business customers will only use smartphones for communications?
Yes and no. For some business customers, there will always be a need for fixed-line comms to limit what end users can do and to take advantage of the many features offered by hosted platforms, such as hunt groups, call pickup groups and so on.
What does the future hold for desktop communications solutions?
There will always be a need for large screen devices with greater processing power. The question is how these will connect to the internet in future. An eSIM in every desktop device would make wireless connectivity more ubiquitous.
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