Networks, business ecosystem: Huawei official delineates commercial use of 5.5G

SHANGHAI, (China): At MWC Shanghai 2024, Li Peng, Huawei’s Corporate Senior Vice President and President of ICT Sales and Service, delivered a keynote on how carriers can more effectively maximise the value of 5.5G.

Years of concerted effort across the industry have prepared networks, services, and the business ecosystem for the large-scale commercial use of 5.5G. For carriers to hit the ground running, Li believes that business model innovation and capability integration are key to maximising return on investment in 5.5G – with a focus on delivering a differentiated user experience.

“The mobile AI era is here,” said Li. “To stimulate new forms of untapped demand, carriers can integrate their network, cloud, and AI capabilities to deliver a differentiated range of connected experiences. Carriers should grasp this good opportunity to explore innovative business models, driving a shift from single-factor to multi-factor monetization – from monetizing traffic to monetizing experience itself. This is key to creating greater value for users of all types and leading industry development in the mobile AI era.”

Li stressed that high-quality supply is key to stimulating new demand. He compared the mobile industry to the aviation industry in the 1970s, when airlines began providing passengers with differentiated cabin services by classifying cabin seats into first class, business class, and economy class, and then launching more personalized service offerings such as airport lounges and third-party privileges. This opened a new chapter of experience monetisation for the aviation industry.

To date, the mobile communications industry has achieved incredible growth through nonstop technological and business model innovation. And now, according to Li, the time has arrived to work on more innovative supply. As mobile communications technology evolves to 5.5G, the industry should integrate its network, cloud, and AI capabilities to stimulate new and latent demand among users. This will help drive industry upgrade and more robust, high-speed growth.

Different people have different requirements for network experience.

Business travelers tend to prefer greater downlink speeds, whereas livestreamers and gamers might care more about uplink and network latency. 5.5G networks improve bandwidth by a factor of 10, and allow carriers to guarantee a solid connected experience anytime and anywhere with wireless QCI-based scheduling, guaranteed bit rate (GBR), and intelligent user and service evaluation and policy generation through the core network’s Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF). Carriers can design a diverse range of targeted packages for different groups of people and provide personalized services that increase revenue and improve loyalty among high-end customers.

According to Li, powered by the high bandwidth and low latency provided by 5G networks and on-demand deployment of cloud resource pools, cloud phones can better meet the needs of different types of users for real-time computing power, data isolation, and online collaboration.

He cited China Mobile Zhejiang as an example. The carrier has released a cloud phone package that integrates computing, network, and cloud capabilities. Subscribers to this service can enjoy one-stop access to on-demand streaming and other member privileges on their virtual cloud devices.

The carrier has also achieved multi-factor monetization by offering 1 TB dedicated data plans with three different levels of computing power packages. By sharing third-party privileges, the carrier has also profited from sponsored data plans.

5.5G delivers enhanced capabilities in terms of uplink and downlink speeds, latency, positioning, and deterministic networking. Li added that these can be used to further upgrade the 30,000+ industry-specific private networks that have already been deployed, effectively extending network capabilities from auxiliary systems to core production systems and creating greater industrial value.

On top of basic 5G network services, carriers can also provide SLA-guaranteed services and value-added services like reliable network design, intelligent edge services, and high-precision positioning. Li noted that 5.5G is a perfect fit for train operations. With 5.5G’s high-precision positioning in tunnels, alongside applications such as 5G-powered automatic video inspection and AI-powered vehicle inspection, all train lines can make intelligent O&M a practical reality.

MWC Shanghai 2024 was held from June 26 to June 28 in Shanghai, China.

During the event, Huawei showcased its latest products and solutions at stands E10 and E50 in Hall N1 of the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC).

2024 will see the commercial launch of 5.5G, while F5.5G, marked by gigabit optical networks, is already underway.

Synergy across networks, cloud, and intelligence is diversifying user experience and making intelligent applications pervasive.

Together with global operators, industry professionals, and opinion leaders, we dive into topics such as amplifying 5G’s success in the 5.5G era, tapping the potential to grow operator revenues, and speeding up towards an intelligent world.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024