5G trends to watch in 2021

Omdia's Chris Nicoll provides an overview of how changes in the core of the mobile network will help 5G networks advance and new services emerge. Next year will be an interesting one in the telecom industry and the trends we will see in 2021 set the stage for how well 5G will succeed. For 5G to live up to its billing as being more than just fast 4G, several things will need to happen. Let's focus on the mobile core as a critical inflection point for the industry. The RAN delivers the speed and coverage determining what services can be supported – the "how much" and "where." The network's core provides the "what" – the critical services and features providing the expected added value of 5G. Work continues with LTE – one of the few technologies to live up to its name: Long Term Evolution. Telefonica Germany announced this month that it had improved its 4G coverage to reach 98% of the German population and 5G NSA, which relies on the 4G network for signaling and control, remains the most popular strategy to deploy early 5G services. However, it is 5G that will drive most of the anticipation and activity in 2021. Trends to watch in 2021: More trends to watch: 5G is still in the build-out phase in much of the world. Few networks outside of South Korea have commercialized the unique services expected of 5G, including gigabit connections, ultra-low latency and massive IoT connections. The changes that will be trending in 2021 for the network – especially the mobile core – lay the groundwork for the 5G networks that will live up to the hype and appear in 2022/2023 and beyond. — Chris Nicoll, Sr. Principal Analyst, Omdia