5G reality check from MWC: A long, expensive road ahead
Amid all the bullish talk about 5G at MWC Barcelona 19, there was also some nervous hand wringing. Even as progress is being made, the tab for this next-generation connectivity remains daunting.
The GSMA trade group that hosts the event formerly known as Mobile World Congress estimates that carriers will be spending $160 billion on an annual basis to roll out 5G networks around the world. And that doesn’t include trillions more that are estimated to be needed to install related infrastructure for things like autonomous vehicles, smart cities, and interactive content like live streaming virtual reality.
Amid all the bullish talk about 5G at MWC Barcelona 19, there was also some nervous hand wringing. Even as progress is being made, the tab for this next-generation connectivity remains daunting.
The GSMA trade group that hosts the event formerly known as Mobile World Congress estimates that carriers will be spending $160 billion on an annual basis to roll out 5G networks around the world. And that doesn’t include trillions more that are estimated to be needed to install related infrastructure for things like autonomous vehicles, smart cities, and interactive content like live streaming virtual reality.
“Rolling out 5G is a communications revolution that will profoundly change every aspect of our lives,” wrote Tony Wonfor, Managing Director of telecom financing firm Greensill, in a report on 5G costs. “But before the world is 5G connected, many challenges must be overcome, not least securing the trillions of dollars of required investment.”
That Greensill report puts the more realistic cost at $2.7 TRILLION through the end of 2020. Not only is that a mind-boggling sum, but it’s still unclear if there will be enough short-term demand for carriers to see any kind of return on that investment. The borrowing required to fund this could leave many carriers in precarious financial positions for years to come.
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