By 2025, it is predicted that there will be more than 200 million 5G connections across Europe, excluding IoT, as the next generation of wireless broadband takes up the baton from 4G LTE and pushes evolution towards mobile broadband. With internet accounting for more than a third of European cableco revenues and broadband services viewed as a key growth area for the industry, the pending arrival of 5G could be viewed as a competitive threat.
Instead, 5G presents a major opportunity to take a key stake in a market that is estimated to be worth in excess of €40bn by 2025 - double current combined annual cable revenues. 5G is sometimes portrayed as the critical stage in the evolution of wireless technology that will spell the end for fixed access. But that overlooks the fact that wireless infrastructure depends on wireline backhaul. As network capacity increases, as mobile use cases multiply, as data traffic volumes accelerate at rates we’ve yet to encounter - the quality of the fixed wire infrastructure will be more critical than ever to delivering the quality of service consumers and enterprises expect, and driving a connected digital future.
Cablecos are well placed to meet these requirements. The convergence of the cable and mobile industries means that the operators building the next-gen mobile networks already have access to cable infrastructure in situ. The presence of a cable backbone that is ready and able to deliver gigabit-plus Full Duplex upload and download streams, ultra-low latency, ultra-high reliability and ultra-high capacity network edge throughput means it can play a pivotal role in bringing 5G capabilities to market swiftly across Europe.
That is the prize on offer for cablecos if they embrace network upgrades to the latest DOCSIS 3.1 and 10G specifications - a key stake in the future of connectivity across the continent.
