Even after three years since its launch, 5G has yet to generate new revenue streams for telecom operators in India or elsewhere in the world, with speed being its only differentiator from 4G, according to a senior executive at Bharti Airtel. This comment comes just after Airtel announced on Tuesday that it had closed a 5G Core equipment deal with Ericsson to transition Airtel's non-standalone (NSA) network to a 5G standalone (SA) mode.
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Airtel's Transition to 5G SA
Bharti Airtel may begin switching its 5G services to a 5G SA network—moving away from the NSA mode it has been using—in one or two cities within three years, The Economic Times reported, citing a senior Airtel executive. The executive noted that India's second-largest telecom operator has significant traffic on its 4G bands, and there is no tangible benefit for users in shifting modes.
No Intention to Immediately Switch on SA
"SA...we are already doing it for our fixed wireless access (FWA) piece and all our core networks are anyway SA-ready. But we have no intention to switch on SA now for some time. We have done a long-term deal with Nokia and Ericsson, and over a period of five years, all of this will shift. But nothing on the anvil right now," the executive reportedly said.
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The Airtel executive stated that the operator has a significant traffic on existing 4G bands. "4G traffic is not growing but 5G is. But unless more and more traffic gets offloaded on the 5G bands, and the spectrum gets released for us (Airtel) to be able to use it for SA ... because, for SA, you need spectrum in the mid-band, say 1800 MHz or 2100 MHz band, and therefore, until that happens, we are in no hurry," the executive said, according to the report.
5G Still Lacks Monetisation Potential
"In any case, there is no benefit that SA provides currently and there are no applications that monetise this technology in any way now, he reportedly said, adding, "My suspicion is that in three years, we should start at least in one or two cities where we have a lot of spectrum where the traffic has started coming off. We should start seeing some networks. But people won't even notice it, there is no difference (between SA and NSA)."
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5G not for FWA, Economics Don't Work
The executive emphasised that 5G has not yet created new revenue streams for any telecom operator worldwide. "...it's largely just speed ... and some FWA (use cases). But you don't deploy 5G for FWA...the economics don't work...you use it for mobile, and then you add it as a topping in order to get some monetisation," the report quoted the executive as saying.
Industrial Applications
For tangible monetisation, 5G still needs a lot of applications to be developed for the technology to be truly utilised and create revenue opportunities. "...all those need to be industrial applications. For that, you don't need ubiquitous networks, you need more bespoke networks," the executive added, according to the report.
