Dell'Oro Group《5G核心网-5G SA网络变现关键》白皮书 5G Core - The Key to Monetizing 5G Standalone Networks - Whitepaper

WHITEPAPER|December2022

5GCore–

TheKeytoMonetizing5GStandaloneNetworks

Author:

DaveBolan,ResearchDirector,MobileCoreNetworks&Multi-AccessEdgeComputing

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ExecutiveSummary

5Gwaslaunchedwithgreatfanfarein2019asthenext-generationtechnology,boastingnewcapabilitiesandfeaturestoaddressabroadbaseofusecasesthat4GLTEcouldnotsupport.Industrywatchersexpectedthat5GwouldtakeMobileNetworkOperators(MNOs)tonewheightsinrevenuegeneration.However,thepathto5Gtookadetourthatspunoffanetworkarchitecturecalled5GNon-Standalone(5GNSA).5GNSAisanchoredtothelegacy4GEvolvedPacketCore(EPC),anditisnottrue5G.Thetrueiterationof5Gisanchoredtoa5GCoreandiscalled5GStandalone(5GSA).

The5GCoreisthekeytounlockingthepotentialforadditionalrevenuestreamsforMNOs.Forthe5GCoreand5GServervendorsuppliers,weexpect5Gmanufacturingrevenuesforthetotalmarkettogrowata31%CAGR,andfortheedgesegmenttogrowatan81%CAGR(2021-2022),totalingnearly$40billioninmanufacturingrevenuesoverthenextfiveyears(2022-2026)(Figure1).

Figure1:5GCoreand5GServermanufacturingrevenuesperlocation($billions)

Source:Dell’OroGroup“MobileCoreNetworkandMECMarketReport,”July2022,and“TelecomServerMarketReport,”October2022.

5GSAwithlargebandwidthsand5Gcloud-nativetechnologyallowsMNOstoaddressanewgenerationofhigh-performanceInternetofThings(IoT)devicesforlowlatency-sensitiveapplicationsmakingreal-timeandnearreal-timecommunicationsareality.Coupledwithedgecomputing,applicationsinvolvingComputerVisionareconsideredthe“killerapplicationenabler.”MNOsthataddressthismarketsegmentstandtoreapnewrevenuestreamsfrom3.3billionbroadbandIoTdevicesby2028.Inaddition,by2024,newlow-costreducedcapability(RedCap)radioswillbeavailabletoaddresstherestoftheIoTdevicemarket,totaling31.4billiondevicesallowingMNOstoharvestadditionalrevenues.

Since2020,only36MNOshavelaunched5GSA;mostMNOsaremaintaining4G(786networks)orhavelaunched5GNSAnetworks(必200networks).Asaresult,onlyasmallhandfulMNOsthatembraced5GSAcanfulfillthepromiseof5Gandgeneratenewmeaningfulrevenues.Asfirstmoversintheirrespectivegeographicregions,theystandtogarnerthemostmarketshareforthenewmarketopportunitiesthat5GSAcansupport.

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Todate,mostoftheinvestmentin5GSAhasbeeninChina.Startingin2020,theChineseMNOsfullyembraced

5GSA,includingMobilePrivateNetworks(MPNs)withnetworkslicingandedgecomputing(Figure2).

Figure2:5GCoreand5GServerregionalmanufacturingrevenueshare

Source:Dell'OroGroup

OneofChina’sMNOs,ChinaUnicom,revealedhowlucrativethe5GSAMPNmarketisinits1H2022InterimReport.

»Over$500millionincontractvalueforindustrialapplicationsin1H2022

»Over8,000cumulative5GSAMPNapplicationprojects

»2,0145GSAMPNscompleted

Inaddition,ChinaUnicomreportedtheyimplementedVoiceoverNewRadio(VoNR)in125cities,whichwillgeneratemoreincrementalrevenueswithnewfeaturesthatcanbemonetizedonlyin5GSAnetworks.

ChinaMobilerevealed11,0005GSAMPNcommercialprojectsandrevenuesup223%Y/Yfor1H2022.Inaddition,ChinaMobilehasover300publicedgenodesspreadacrossitsnetwork.AndChinaTelecomreportedsigningover1,300new5GSAMPNcontracts,andthecontractrevenuesgrewover80%Y/Yfor1H2022.Theyclaimedover9,000cumulativeprojectssignedintheir1H2022InterimReport.

Addingitallup,thethreeChineseMNOshavecompletedover5,0005GSAMPNssince2020,withnearly23,000MPNsinthebacklog.ThisisincrementalrevenuesthattheChinesMNOsareenjoying,enabledby5GSAtechnology,byaddressingtheMobilePrivateNetworkopportunity.

China’sMNOshavediscoveredthatthe5GCoreisthekeytomonetizingthe5GSAnetwork:

»CloudNativeTechnology–offeringmicroservicesthatcanbeofferedquicklyandefficiently»NetworkSlicing–addressinganewlucrativemarketformobileprivatenetworks»EdgeComputing–addressinganewlucrativemarketforlow-latencyapplications

4Gand5GNSAcannotaddressthenewusecasesthatrequirethecapabilitiesof5GSA,andMNOsthatclingto4Gand5GNSAcouldbeleftbehindiftheydonotembrace5GSAsoon.

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Inthefirstsectionofthiswhitepaper,wedescribethepromiseof5Gandoutlinethemigrationpathto5GSA.Webelievethatuponreviewingthisinformation,anMNOwillrealizetheimportanceofmovingto5GSAasquicklyaspossibletocapturemorerevenues.

Inthenextsection,weconsiderwhatmakesthe5GCoredifferentfromthe4GEPCandwhatthedifferencesmeantotheMNO.The5GCoreallowsMNOstomoveintothemodernclouderaandoffernewservicesquicklyandefficientlytogeneratenewrevenuestreams.Wefocusonthreekeyfeaturesofthe5GCore:(1)Cloud-NativeTechnology,(2)NetworkSlicing,and(3)EdgeComputing.

Inthethirdsectionofthispaper,weillustratethesizeofthemarketopportunityforMobilePrivateNetworks—addressedbynetworkslicing—andthesizeofthemarketopportunityforlowlatencyusecases—addressedbyEdgeComputing.ThisshouldimpressMNOswiththesheermagnitudeoftheoverallmarketopportunitythat5GSAwillmakeavailabletothem.

WebelieveitisimportantforMNOstounderstandtheunderlyingtechnology,aswellaswhatisrequiredtobring5GSAnetworkstolife.MNOsmustpartnerwithmany5Gecosystemplayerstobringsolutionstomarketandcapturenewrevenues.TheelementsrequiredwillincludetheInternetofThings(IoT),infrastructureandapplicationservers,andArtificialIntelligence/MachineLearning(AI/ML)DataAnalytics.

Andfinally,wewilllookatthenew5GSAusecasesthatinvolveanewclassof5Ghigh-performanceIoTdevicesfromwhichanMNOcangeneratenewrevenuestreams.Thesearehighbandwidth-intensiveusecasesthatneedreal-timeprocessingthatonly5GSAnetworkscanmeet.Therevenuepotentialishighbecauseoftherequirementforhighbandwidthandlowlatency.Wewillhighlightthe“killerapplication”usecaseenabler—ComputerVision—anditsobviousimportance.

Asnoted,MNOsinChinafullyembraced5GSAandlaunchedtheirnetworksin2020;thus,wehaveovertwoyearsofdatafromthousandsofmobileprivatenetworksinChinatolearnfrom,andwecanpinpointthe5GSAapplicationsthatarereturningthemostrevenuestotheMNOs.

ItisvitalforMNOstobuildout5GSAnetworksasquicklyaspossibletomaximizethecaptureofthemarketopportunity.

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TableofContent

ExecutiveSummary 1

TheCasefor5GStandalone(5GSA) 5

ThePromiseof5G 5

TheStateof5GStandalone 6

TheRoutefrom4Gto5GStandalone 8

TheCasefor5GCore 9

Cloud-NativeTechnology 9

NetworkSlicing 10

EdgeComputing 11

TheCaseforMobilePrivateNetworks(MPNs) 12

SharedMPNs 12

DedicatedMPNs 12

StandaloneMPNs 13

5GStandaloneSupportingEcosystem 14

InternetofThings(IoT) 14

InfrastructureandApplicationServers 14

ArtificialIntelligence/MachineLearning(AI/ML)DataAnalytics 15

5GStandaloneHigh-PerformanceIoTUseCases 15

TopIndustrialUseCases 15

ComputerVision–the“KillerApplication”UseCaseEnabler 17

LessonsfromChina 18

Conclusions 22

GlossaryofTerms 23

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TheCasefor5GStandalone(5GSA)

ThePromiseof5G

Thepromiseof5GcanbetracedbacktoanNGMNAlliance(NextGenerationMobileNetworksAlliance)whitepapertitled“NGMN5GWhitepaper,”publishedin2015.Itwasco-authoredbyrepresentativesfrom21MNOs.The3rdGenerationPartnershipProject(3GPP)tookthemantleofdevelopingthestandardandreleasedthefirstspecificationattheendof2017;thisstandardwascommonlyknownas5GRelease15(3GPPTS23.501,Systemarchitectureforthe5GSystem).Usecasesdrovetheperformancerequirementsoutlinedinthewhitepaper.Theywerenewusecases,andtheyrepresentednewopportunitiesforMNOstogeneratenewrevenues(Figure3).

Figure3:5GnewusecasefamiliesforincreasedMNOrevenues

HighLevelUseCases

enhancedMobileBroadband(eMBB)

UltraReliableLowLatencyCommunications(URLLC)

MassiveInternetofThings(MIoT)

High-PerformanceMachine-TypeCommunications(HMTC)

Vehicle-to-Everything(V2X)

Top-level5Gspecificationsgoalswereestablishedtomeetthedemandsofvarioususecases.While4Gcansatisfysomepartsofthemarket,5Gwilldoitatscalewithamagnitudeofperformanceincreasesenablingnewapplications(Figure4).

Figure4:Toplevel5Gspecificationsgoalscomparedto4G

UseCase

4G

5G

eMBB

1Gbps

10Gbps

1ms

URLCC

10ms

MIoT100kconnections/km21Mconnections/km2

Aswewillsee,thepathto5Gtookadetourwithwhatisnowcalled5GNSA.Asweknow,thisisanchoredtothelegacy4GEPC,anditisnottrue5Gwiththecapabilitiesdefinedabove,whichisnowcalled5GSAanchoredtoa5GCore,“true5G.”

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OneofNGMN’sgoalsfor5Gwastoexploitallspectrumoptionstodeliverincreasednetworkspeeds.The5Gindustryhasconvincedvariousregulatorsworldwidetoreleasenewspectrumthatwillmakehigh-speedcommunicationspossible(Figure5).

Figure5:5GSpectrumusageincreasesdatespeedsandlowersthecostperbitdelivered

5GFrequencyRanges

MaximumRFChannelBandwidth

MaximumCAChannelBandwidth

FR1410MHZ–7125MHz

100

MHz

400MHz

FR2-124250MHz–52600MHz400MHz800MHZ

FR1+FR2-1–410MHzto52600MHz

n/a

1200MHz

FR2-252600MHz–71000MHz400MHz1200MHz

FR2-252600MHz–71000MHz(optional)2000MHzN/A

Source:UserEquipment(UE)radiotransmissionandreception3GPPTS38.101-2

Whencomparingthe4GmaximumRFchannelbandwidthat20MHz,andthemaximumCarrierAggregation(CA)channelbandwidthat100MHz,iteasytoseethat5Gwillenableusecasesthatcouldneverbeaccomplishedbeforein4G.And5Gcandoitatalowercostperbitdelivered.

TheStateof5GStandalone

Lookingtodayatthestateofthe5Gindustry,the5Gindustryhascollectivelycometogetherandismakingthepromiseof5GSAareality(Figure6).

Figure6:5GStandalonecapabilitiesprovidingMNOsmonetizationopportunities

Source:Mavenir,*SignalsResearchGroup

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5GSAenablesademonstrablysuperiornetworkthatwillprovideuserswithhigheruplinkspeeds,improveddevicebatterylife,quickerattachedtimestothenetwork,andquickerhandovertimes.Thesebenefitscansupportnewapplications,includingrichVoNRandVideooverNewRadio(ViNR)callingexperiencebeyondanover-the-top(OTT)solution.Withmobileedgecomputingormulti-accessedgecomputing(MEC),5GSAnetworkscanpromiselow-latencyperformance,makingreal-timeornearreal-timecommunicationsareality.Thisopensupaplethoraofusecases,suchasCloudGaming,AugmentedReality(AR),VirtualReality(VR),VehicletoEverything(V2X),andthehigh-performanceInternetofThings(IoT).Thenewusecasepossibilitiesarealmostendless.TheadditionofhighpositionaccuracyextendsthehorizonevenfurtherforevenmoreIoTusecases.WithNetworkSlicing,performancecanbecustom-tailoredforeachusecase,providingmanyavenuesformonetization.

Despitetheindustrydeliveringonthepromiseof5GSA,onlyafewMNOshavecommerciallydeployed5GSAeMMBnetworks.786MNOshavelaunchedpublic4GSAeMBBservices,andaround200havelaunched5GNSAeMMBservices(Source:GSA“NTSStatisticsNovember2022”).Meanwhile,only36MNOshavepublicallylaunched5GSAeMBBservices(Figure7).

Figure7:36MNOshavepublicallylaunched5GSAeMBBservices

Region

2020

2021

2022

NorthAmericaT-Mobile–USARogers–Canada

AT&TWireless–USA

DISHWireless–USA

Verizon–USA

Telefónica–Germany

Vodafone–Germany

stc–Kuwait

Zain–SaudiArabia

Vodafone–UK

stc–BahrainTelekom–Germany

Rain–SouthAfrica

EMEA

APAC

ChinaMobile

ChinaMobile–HK

ChinaTelecom

ChinaUnicom

AIS–Thailand

TOT–Thailand

True–Thailand

TPGTelecom–Australia

NTTDOCOMO–Japan

Softbank–Japan

Smart–Philippines

M1–Singapore

SingTel–Singapore

StarHub–Singapore

KT–SouthKorea

TaiwanMobile

Optus–Australia

ChinaBroadnet

KDDI–Japan

CALA

Claro–Brazil

TIM–Brazil

Vivo–Brazil

Source:Dell’OroGroup,asNovember2022

NotallMNOshavehadtheopportunitytolaunch5GSA.Insomecountries,regulatorshavebeenslowertoreleasenewspectrumand/orarestillbeginningtoreleasespectrum.Inothercountries,theecosystemforUEdevicesthatsupportanMNO’sRFchannelplanshavenotbeenavailable.Insomecases,MNOshadnochoicebuttomoveforwardwith5GNSAforcapacityreasonstokeepupwithincreasingtrafficdemandbefore5GSAwouldhavebeenreadilyavailable.

Themajorityoftheseroadblocksshouldbeclearedbytheendof2023,andMNOswillhavetheopportunitytomoveforwardwithbuilding5GSAeMBBnetworkstoincreasetheirrevenuestreams.

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TheRoutefrom4Gto5GStandalone

MNOshavefollowedoneofthreeroutesto5G;theseroutesmaybecharacterizedbyeaseofimplementation.

»Thequickestrouteto5GisDynamicSpectrumSharing(DSS)overa4GRAN.DSSprovidesan

incrementalspeedboostof10%to15%overanexisting4GradiowithinitsallocatedspectrumandRFchannelbandwidth.ItisquickbecauseitdoesnotrequireanetworkupgradetotheEPC.

»Thenextmostaccessiblerouteto5Gis5GNSA.5GNSAusesDualConnectivity(DC)witha4Gradio.

Itallowsuserequipment(UE),suchasasmartphone,tosimultaneouslyconnecttotworadios.Inthecaseofa5GNSAimplementation,the4Gradioisthemasternode,andthe5Gradioisthesecondarynode.ThisprovidestheUEwithincreaseddownlinkspeeds(thecombinedbandwidthsofboththe4Gand5Gradios),greatlyenhancingtheuserexperience.The4Gnetworkmustbeslightlymodifiedtohandle5Gtraffic,whichisprocessedbytheEPC.

»Thefinalroute,5GStandalone(5GSA),involvesanew5GCorenetworkarchitecture.The5GCore

canonlybeusedforthe5GSAnetwork,interworkingwiththeEPC,oritcanoperateasaconvergedcorethathandlesboth4Gand5Gtraffic,eliminatingtheneedfortheEPC.

Onthesurface,takingahigh-levelviewofthenetworktopologies,thenetworkslooksimilar.BothcanuseDCandCarrierAggregation(CA)toincreasebandwidth(Figure8).

Figure8:Theroutefrom4GSA/5GNSAto5GSA

Source:Dell'OroGroup

However,thedifferencecanbeseenwhendrillingdownanotherlayerlookingatthecapabilitiesofthe5GCore.

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TheCasefor5GCore

Cloud-NativeTechnology

The5GCoreisdesignedtotakeMNOsintothemoderncloudera.Withthe5GCorecloud-nativeservice-basedarchitecture(SBA),MNOscannowoperateatwebscalecomparabletoHyperscaleCloudProviders(HCPs)byofferingnewserviceson-demand,generatingadditionalrevenuestreams,andgrowingtherevenuebase.

The5GCoredisaggregatesthehardwarefromthesoftwareandseparatestheSharedDataLayer,theControlPlane,andtheUserPlanefromeachother.Thismakesthe5GCoreveryresilientandsupportsitsdesigngoalsofmeetingTelco-gradenetworkreliabilityof99.999%uptime.ThankstotheNetworkExposureFunction(NEF),allnetworkfunctionstiedtotheservice-basedinterfaceareawareofallothernetworkfunctionsandcantapnetworkresourcesondemand.Thesoftwareforthenetworkfunctionsconsistsofcontainer-basedcloud-nativenetworkfunctions(CNFs),makingthe5GCoredeployableoverbaremetal,virtualmachines,privatecloud,andpubliccloudinfrastructure(Figure9).

Figure9:5GCoreCloud-NativeService-BasedArchitecture(SBA)

Source:Dell’OroGroupand3GPP

Besidesprovidinguserswithhigherdataspeedswithadditionalspectrumthat5Gcanoperatein,MNOscanoffercustomtailoredsolutionsforspecificusersorclassofusers,ontheconsumersideandtheenterprisesideofthebusiness.ThetwoprimarycapabilitiesthatpermitsofferingsuchservicesisNetworkSlicinganddistributedUserPlanesenablingEdgeComputing.Now,insteadofaone-sizefitsallasin4Gand5GNSA

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Inaworld’sfirst,Singtelwillbeapplyingthemostadvancedformofnetworkslicingtechnologytosupportitsdigitalappmarketplace,CAST.WithSportsPlusonSingtelCAST,racefanswillbeabletocatchtheentirehigh-velocitynightracefromwherevertheyare,evenaroundthehightrafficareasofthecircuit,whereover250,000spectatorsareexpected,…withSportsPlusonSingtelCAST,atS$9.90fortheweek,customerscanalsoenjoytheraceontheir5Gmobiledevices,whichwillofferanenhancedlag-free,high-speedstreamingexperience,”perSingtel’spressrelease,27September2022.

Ne

Source:Formula1.

networks,5GSAdatatraffichasmanypathsitcantraversewitheachpathofferinguniqueservicesthatcanbemonetized.Withtheadditionallevelofcomplexitythatcomeswiththe5GCoreSBA,animportantfeatureinself-managingthenetworkwithNetworkAnalyticstokeepitrunningsmoothly.

NetworkSlicing

MPNscanbesetupwithinanMNO’s5Gnetwork—knownperthe3GPPspecificationasPublicNetworkIntegrated–Non-PublicNetwork(PNI-NPN)—viaNetworkSlicing.The5GCoreNetworkSlicingSelectionFunction(NSSF)canallocatededicatedRAN,Core,andTransportresourcestodesignatedusersforcriticalusecaseswithkeyperformanceindicators(KPIs).Insomecases—forexample,UEswiththeAndroidoperatingsystemassigningnetworkslicingtoapplicationsthroughtheUserEquipmentRouteSelectionPolicy(URSP)rules—theUEcanselectfrommultiplenetworkslices.NetworkSlicingcreatesalogicalprivatenetworkthatcanonlybeusedbysubscribersthathavesignedupforacustom-tailoredServiceLevelAgreement(SLA).Forindustrial/enterpriseusers,thisisalow-costwaytobuildaprivatenetworkversusindustrial/enterprisesbuildingandoperatingtheirownStandaloneMPN.NetworkslicingisanexcellentopportunityforMNOstomonetizetheirinvestmentin5G(Figure10).

Figure10:NetworkSlicingprovidesthecapabilitytomonetizemanynewserviceofferings

3GPPPre-DefinedNetworkSlices

EnhancedMobileBroadband(eMBB)

UltraReliableLowLatencyCommunications(URLLC)

MassiveInternetofThings(MIoT)

High-PerformanceMachine-TypeCommunications(HMTC)

Vehicle-to-Everything(V2X)

MNOsmaywanttoofferNetworkSlicesforotherusecases,suchasFWA,CloudGaming,Multicast/BroadcastService,andPublicSafety.EachNetworkSlicecanfine-tuneparameters,suchasdatathroughput,latency,jitter,packetloss,videoresolution,andvideoframerate,thusoptimizingtherevenuestreamfornewservices.

Networkslicescanbecreatedon-demandandforspecifictimes.Singtel,Singapore,theofficialnetworkpartnerofGrandPrixSeasonSingapore2022,showcasedarecentexample.

com

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EdgeComputing

Withdistributeduserplanes,theuserplanefunction(UPF)canbedistributedaroundanetwork,enablingMEC.Thisprovidesthecapabilitytoofferlow-latencyedgecomputing.TherearetwowaystoimplementMEC.(1)PublicMEC—MEClocationsatvariousdistancesfromthenetworkedge—isforindustrial/enterprisesandconsumerusersthatneedbroadgeographiccoverage.(2)WithNetworkSlicing,MNOscanprovidemobileprivatenetworkingforvarioususecasescenarios.PrivateMEC—locatedon-premiseswithRAN—isforindustrial/enterpriseusersthatprefertohavethe5Gnetworkon-campustoaccesstheultimateperformanceincoverage,speed,andlowlatency.PrivateMECalsokeepstheend-userdataon-site,protectingtheenduser’sdatasovereignty(Figure11).

Figure11:MECprovidesthecapabilitytomonetizelowlatencyservices

Source:Dell'OroGroup

ForeveryMECsiteinstalled,thebackhaulcostsaresignificantlyreducedversussendingthedatabackandforthtoafarawaydatacenter.Indeed,MECmaybecomearequirementforMNOs,because—givenforecastsofexponentialgrowthindatatraffic—itcouldbecomeimpracticaltobackhaulallthatdatatrafficwithoutMEC.

3GPPRelease17versionofthe5GspecificationsaddstheEdgeApplicationServerDiscoveryFunction(EASDF)tothe5GCore,allowingedge-awaredevicestofindtheclosestapplicationserver.ThismakesMECmoreefficientandprovidesbetterservice.Thiswilllaunchthe5GEdgeAwareNetworkserainthenextyearortwo.

A5GSAMPNwithNetworkSlicingandMECwasprovidedbyChinaMobiletoXinfengmingGroup,alarge-scalebusinessfocusingonpolyestermanufacturing.8Kvideoresolutioncamerason5G-connectedrobotsareusedforqualityinspectionofmicron-levelfibersspunupataspeedof4,000metersperminute.The5GSAnetworkmetthe100Mbpsuplinkspeedandlowlatencyrequirements,withtheprocessingdoneusingon-premisesMECservers.

Source:GSMA,"5GUseCasesforVerticalsinChina2020”

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TheCaseforMobilePrivateNetworks(MPNs)

SharedMPNs

ToachievethelowestlatencypossibleforaSharedMPNwithnetworkslicing,theMECSystemmustbelocatednexttothebasestation.PublicMEC—sharedatthenetworkedge—wouldmeanplacingMECSystemsnexttoeverymacrobasestationsite,representingapotential10.5millionlocationsby2026.Thisscenariowouldgeneratethemaximumback-haulcostsavingsthatanMNOcouldrealize,dramaticallyreducingback-hauluserdatatraffictoandfromthedatacenter.Themarketwilleventuallymaturetothispointforapplicationsthatrequiregeographiccoverage,suchasV2X,mission-criticalcommunicationsforpublicsafetyandpublichealth,andsomesmartcityapplications.TheMNOthataddressesthismarketfirstwillmostlikelygeneratethemostrevenue(Figure12).

Figure12:MarketpotentialforMPNswithNetworkSlicingviaPublicMECat10.5millionmacro-BaseStationsites(inmillions)

Source:Dell'OroGroup

Forconsumers,oneoftheearlysuccessesinmarketsinAsiawith5GSAnetworksisaddressingtheneedsforthelowlatencymulti-playerCloudGamingmarket.Gamersarewillingtopayapremiumforlowlatencyservicetogivethemacompetitiveadvantage.Ontheconsumersideofthebusiness,weconsiderCloudGamingthe“killerapplication.”Anotherexampleofgeneratingmorerevenueswith5GSAistheSingtelusecasenotedearlier,spinningupanetworksliceoverPublicMECforthelowlatencyrequirementforARtoenhancethefanexperienceatvenuesforthedurationofasportingeventorconcertorfestival.

DedicatedMPNs

IfthePublicMECmarketopportunitysoundsimpressive,theDedicatedMPNmarketforindustrialsitesisevenmoreso.Over14millionlocationshavebeenidentifiedashavingthepotentialforwirelessconnectivity.ThesesitescouldbeaddressedwithPrivateMEC—on-premises—forlatency-sensitiveapplications.The5Gecosystemsuppliersarelaser-focusedonthisspacebecausetheyrecognizethetremendousopportunity.MNOslikewisecouldcapitalizeonthisopportunityandgeneratemorerevenues(Figure13).

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10,710

Figure13:MarketpotentialforDedicated/StandaloneMPNviaPrivateMEC(on-premises)at14.5+millionindustrialsites(inthousands)

Industrial&Manufacturing Warehouses Hospitals&LabsWaterUtilityPlantsMining

TransportVenues&PortsPowerGenerationMilitaryBases

Oil&Gas

Source:Nokia2019

3,300

263

140

54

50

47

10

8

1101001,00010,000

5GwillberequiredtomeetmanyoftheneedsoftheseMPNs,with60%of5.5billioncellularIoTconnectionsexpectedtobebroadbandIoTdevicesby2028.(Figure14).

Figure14:CellularIoTconnections(billion)–60%of5.5billiontobeBroadbandIoTby2028

Source:EricssonMobilityReport,November2022

StandaloneMPNs

Someindustrial/enterprisesmaychoosetohavea5GSAMPN,whichisnottiedtothepublicnetwork.MNOscantakeadvantageofthisopportunityofferingthesamesolutionandservicesastheydoforDedicatedMPNs.Thedifferenceisthatthe5GCoreison-premisesinsteadofjusttheMEC.

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5GStandaloneSupportingEcosystem

Ifwethinkofa5GSAnetworkstandingonastage,the5GCorewouldbecenterstage.FrontandcenteraretheRANandIoTtechnologiesconnectedtotheaudiencethatrepresentstheassociatedusecasesandtheassociateddata.Behindthesce