Only 25 percent of consumers polled by GSMA Intelligence expect 5G to deliver “innovative new services,” but 54 percent expect 5G networks to deliver faster speeds. So what does that mean?
With the caveat that consumers often have expectations that do not match supplier promises; sometimes express attitudes that do not match behavior, or that change, one interpretation is that consumers already have a pretty good grasp on what 5G might mean to them, early on.
The primary consumer use case will feature faster speeds, and not likely innovative new services, at first.
What is less clear is the respondent belief that 5G will lead to a new era of devices. Just 20 percent believe that will be the case. Again, much hinges on what respondents think “new devices” means.
By definition, they will have to buy new devices to use 5G. On the other hand, poll respondents might have in mind new categories of consumer appliances. They are likely wrong on both scores.
Though 20 percent believe 5G will usher in a new era of devices, it is likely many new types of devices will be deployed, but to support enterprise or industrial internet of things, not necessarily new appliances directly used by consumers.
Nobody doubts that early 5G marketing to consumers will therefore emphasize speed. What remains unclear is whether 5G also will produce new billing and packaging innovations.
GSMA Intelligence also notes that almost 90 percent of consumers in developed countries own a smartphone, with an average of 2.5 smartphones in every U.S. household.
The average U.S. and U.K. household now owns six connected devices – from TVs to consoles to emerging categories such as smart speakers.
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