Global wireless 5G network infra revenue to cross $4 bn in 2020: Gartner

The worldwide wireless 5G network infrastructure revenue will touch $ 4.2 billion by 2020, an increase of 89% jump from the financial year 2019’s reported revenue of $2.2 billion, according to the latest report by Global research and advisory firm Gartner.

The investments in 5G infrastructures, specifically in the 5G New Radio networks (5G NR), is expected to double from 6% of the total investment in 2019 to 12% in 2020. 

5G NR has a significant advantage over 5G LTE as NR provides eight times more downlink than LTE. Downlink is the speed at which devices can receive signals from satellites. 

“5G wireless network infrastructure revenue will nearly double between 2019 and 2020,” said Sylvain Fabre, senior research director, Gartner.

Fabre also pointed out that for 5G deployments in 2019, communication service providers are using non-standalone technology, which enables them to introduce 5G services that run quicker. 

“5G New Radio (NR) equipment can also be rolled out alongside existing 4G core network infrastructures,” added Fabre. 

Gartner said communications service providers(CSPs) will roll out more standalone 5G technology in 2020, which will require 5G NR equipment as well as a 5G core network. This would ultimately help lower costs for service providers and improve performance for users.

5G services are expected to be launched in major cities across the globe by 2020. The US, South Korea and a few European countries, including Switzerland, Finland and the UK, have already started 5G services. 

Meanwhile, CSPs in France, Germany, Canada, Hong Kong, Spain and Sweden, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have announced plans to take 5G network building forward, Garter said. 

Most CSPs are also expected to target their 5G solutions towards enterprises, although currently a large chunk of the 5G market is driven by consumers, the report said.

5G networks are expected to be used in industries such as the smart factory, autonomous transportation, remote healthcare, agriculture and retail sectors, Gartner said.