Nap pods, an in-office emotional support ferret, and yoga ball chairs are all things that businesses may have a hard time investing in. Surprisingly, 5G is also on that list.
According to Ericsson’s latest US State of Enterprise Connectivity report, almost nine in 10 (88%) businesses believe 5G is “critical to optimizing the use of AI in the workplace.” The report is based on a Censuswide survey of more than 1,000 technology decision makers.
Challenges ahead. While most businesses see that 5G and an AI-powered workplace go hand in hand, several obstacles stand in their way when it comes to investing in the wireless cellular technology. The biggest hurdle, which 52% of respondents identified, is the costs associated with deploying and maintaining 5G networks. Kyle Allen, a senior wireless solutions architect at Myriad360, told IT Brew that radios for 5G alone can run a company around $6,000. He added that while maintenance can be done by trained onsite IT staff, some companies will outsource it to a managed service, which may be another additional cost.
Almost half (46%) of surveyed tech leaders also said a “complex” upgrading process for hardware to support 5G networks was a barrier. Scott Schober, CEO of Berkeley Varitronics Systems, a wireless test and cybersecurity solutions provider, told IT Brew that companies making the jump from 4G to 5G can’t just “turn a switch” to complete the process.
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“The costs are very high. It takes a long time to migrate over, and there’s physical hardware in play…be it at the base station or be it in our actual devices that we’re using,” he said.
Another 21% said not having a clear return on investment was a struggle associated with the wireless cell tech.
The appeal. Schober told IT Brew that there are several reasons 5G might be catching the eye of enterprises at this time. Because of its fast speed and low latency (meaning there’s a smaller delay between when information is sent and received), he said 5G is fundamental in supporting innovations like autonomous driving, smart cities, and smart infrastructure.
“Can you do it with 4G? Eh, not so good. It falls short,” Schober said.
Allen added that these factors also make 5G useful in supporting AI in industrial settings, such as in factory or agriculture use cases.
“In that context, yes, 5G is the optimal resource because wi-fi just cannot cut it,” he said.