Huawei’s 13th Global Mobile Broadband Forum (MBBF) kicked off in Bangkok with a keynote from the company’s Rotating Chairman, Ken Hu.
“5G has grown faster than any previous generation of mobile technology,” began Hu. “In just three years, we’ve seen solid progress in network deployment, consumer services, and industry applications.”
“5G is in the fast lane,” he continued, “and we should all be proud of the progress we’ve made. But there’s more we can do to maximize its value. We need to work together to fully unleash the power of 5G networks and expand into services like cloud and system integration. Together, we can drive leapfrog development in 5G networks, applications, and the industry as a whole.”
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As of October 2022, more than 230 carriers around the world have launched commercial 5G services. In total, the industry has set up over three million 5G base stations, serving more than 700 million subscribers.
In telecoms, consumer services still account for the bulk of carrier revenue. As 5G becomes more prevalent, its vastly superior experience is driving new shifts in consumer behavior, including a sharp rise in high-definition video traffic. New mobile applications that take advantage of 5G’s greater speeds and lower latency have doubled average user data consumption (DOU) and are increasing average revenue per user (ARPU) by 20%–40%, contributing to steady growth in carrier revenue from connectivity.
At the same time, B2B 5G applications are also becoming a new engine for carrier revenue growth, producing considerable value in industries like oil and gas, manufacturing, and transportation.
These applications are not only innovative – they’re generating real commercial value for carriers. In 2021, for example, Chinese carriers brought in over CNY3.4 billion (roughly USD500 million) in new revenue from more than 3,000 industrial 5G projects. What’s more, these projects also generated 10 times that amount from related data and integrated ICT services.