5G Network Infrastructure Revenue to Reach $4.2 Billion in 2020: Gartner

5G network wave continue attracting new business leaders in the industry, billions of dollars being spent for setup. According to Gartner’s recent forecasts global 5G network infrastructure revenue will touch USD 4.2billion in 2020, Approx 90% increase from last year revenue.

“5G wireless network infrastructure revenue will nearly double between 2019 and 2020,” for 5G deployments in 2019, CSPs are using non-stand-alone technology. This enables them to introduce 5G services that run more quickly, as 5G New Radio (NR) equipment can be rolled out alongside existing 4G core network infrastructure,” said Sylvain Fabre, senior research director at Gartner Inc.

In 2020, communications service providers (CSPs) will roll out stand alone 5G technology, which will require 5G NR equipment and a 5G core network. This will lower costs for CSPs and improve performance for users.

5G Rollout Will Accelerate Through 2020

5G services will launch in many major cities in 2019 and 2020. Services have already begun in the U.S., South Korea and some European countries, including Switzerland, Finland and the U.K. CSPs in Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Spain, Sweden, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have announced plans to accelerate 5G network building through 2020.

As a result, Gartner estimates that 7% of CSPs worldwide have already deployed 5G infrastructure in their networks.

CSPs Will Increasingly Aim 5G Services at Enterprises

Although consumers represent the main segment driving 5G development, CSPs will increasingly aim 5G services at enterprises. 5G networks are expected to expand the mobile ecosystem to cover new industries, such as the smart factory, autonomous transportation, remote healthcare, agriculture and retail sectors, as well as enable private networks for industrial users.

“National 5G coverage will not occur as quickly as with past generations of wireless infrastructure,” said Mr. Fabre. “To maintain average performance standards as 5G is built out, CSPs will need to undertake targeted strategic improvements to their 4G legacy layer, by upgrading 4G infrastructure around 5G areas of coverage. A less robust 4G legacy layer adjoining 5G cells could lead to real or perceived performance issues as users move from 5G to 4G/LTE Advanced Pro. This issue will be most pronounced from 2019 through 2021, a period when 5G coverage will be focused on hot spots and areas of high population density.