CV_JulAug_21_3

MOBILE & WIRELESS Edge computing brings computer power closer to the data source: the user. Edge refers to enterprise- hardened servers and appliances that are not in core data centers. This includes server rooms, servers in the field, cell towers and smaller data centers located regionally and remote- ly for faster response times. Ultimately, those 175 ZB of data will only become a worthy business asset when enterprises and OTTs make sense of them, and that is where edge computing is proving to be as crucial as mainframes were in the 1950s. Edge potentially will be an even bigger revolution, and by 2025, 75 percent of enterprise data will be processed at the edge, compared to only 10 percent today, according to IBM. Edge computing is happen- ing because 5G is being deployed worldwide. IBM expects the global 5G-enabled edge computing market will exceed $50 billion by 2025. KPMG International, for its part, expects that by 2023, with an uptick in the adoption of 5G and edge computing, five target industries alone are forecast to drive more than $500 billion in annual revenue into the entire ecosystem that includes connectivity, hardware, software and services. A lot of the applications and latency- sensitive use cases will gain strength with the availability of 5G networks, which support bandwidth-hungry applications. This is because 5G offers greater speeds – which can be less than ten milliseconds – that bring down latency and data trans- fer delays. The ultimate results in saving lives, speeding business transactions, creating new revenues and enabling a continuous wave of innovation to build new applications. Ultimately, the industry is on a journey to reduce latency. And it is succeeding. All this is proof of the importance of telecommunication companies in the digital economy. As we digitize and modernize our networks, the usage of ground-break- ing infrastructure and new network architectures are placing telecommu- nications at the forefront of this new ecosystem of speedy networks, and therefore, the realization of old and new latency-sensitive use cases. Why network latency is important in 5G edge monetization Take the gaming industry as an example, as e-sports explode in popularity, cloud gaming is the beacon for the industry’s new age. Billions of users globally are playing online versus when they were constrained to a single piece of hardware such as a console. Time in this sector is essential and latency is not an option, or game over. All this is being enabled for the ever- expanding ecosystems of infrastructure that is deployed closer to the gamer. Cloud has taken over the $159 billion gaming industry and will be serving all users, no matter what devices they use to access their service. Nevertheless, success is dependent on how well networks perform and how much they bring down latency. In the gaming world, anything below the 100ms is consid- ered acceptable network latency, with 20ms to 40ms seen as optimal. However, as games become more realistic and things such as virtual and augmented reality pick up, consumers will demand lower times. Cloud gaming enables the mass adoption of virtual reality (VR), which will go beyond the gaming world. Take VR concerts for instance, if you are watching your favorite band play, you will not settle for anything less than real time. This is where the importance of 5G low latency will be exposed to the masses. Businesses need to be ready to answer that call. Beyond that, consider the applica- tions in the e-health space. You will no longer have to travel long distances for surgery. You could simply check into a local hospital, and a surgeon 2,000 miles away could perform the surgery. This has been demonstrated in China where the world’s first remote opera - tion using 5G technology took place two years ago. According to reports, the surgery was made possible by the extremely low latency of 5G. C art r Wireless Subsc ib rs: Revised v. Prior Forecast Source: Company reports; MoffettNathanson estimates Subsc Source: Company reports; MoffettNathanson estimates The $517bn 5G+Edge ecosystem across just five industries Source: KPMG International 0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 3 3 2021E 2022E 2023E 2024E 2025E 0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 Subscribers 2021E 2022E 2023E 2024E 2025E 3,502 3,475 4,594 4,424 5,566 5,238 6,444 5,939 7,244 6,545 Industrial manufacturing Connected healthcare Intelligent transportation Environmental monitoring Gaming 6% 29% 35% 53% 21% 38% 25% 28% 39% 37% 16% 18% 20% 48% 30% 15% 11% 9% 9% 14% Revised Prior $206.4bn $45.3bn $24.3bn $5.0bn $236.0bn Connectivity Software Hardware Services 28 CHANNEL V ISION | July - August 2021