The study provides a cost-benefit analysis of 5G by market segment. This suggests over three quarters of projected additional economic growth from 5G will be driven by three industries: manufacturing (£5.2bn), construction (£4.2bn), and agriculture (£2.2bn). The report also forecast an over five-time return on investment for companies investing in 5G as an open innovation platform.
John Griffin, head of Ericsson UK & Ireland, explained, “5G technology will be a foundation for the UK’s future as it recovers from Covid-19 and builds a world leading digital economy. As an open innovation platform, 5G will accelerate digital transformation and help the UK establish a truly global leadership position in the industries and technologies of the future. Ericsson is already leading the deployment of 5G in the UK and is committed to developing the early use cases that will deliver the economic, social and environmental returns to build a sustainable and resilient infrastructure for future generations.”
The paper also made several specific recommendations on UK policy that its authors say could help accelerate 5G adoption in the UK. Those include ramping up the availability and uptake of 5G infrastructure for use in priority sectors such as manufacturing, freight and utilities. In addition, the authors argue 5G coverage should be further extended into rural areas, with operators also rolling out high-density networks to provide very high capacity for 5G in urban applications such as construction.
These findings stem from a broader 5G action plan review for Europe report, published by Analysys Mason, Ericsson and Qualcomm in September.