A new report jointly published by consultancy firm STL Partners and Vertiv has projected that the deployment of 5G technology in telecommunications would boost the global manufacturing and transport sectors about $1 trillion in benefits.
The report titled ‘Why Energy Management Is Critical To 5G Success’ indicated that the projected amount would be saved by manufacturing and transportation sectors from improved energy efficiency and reduced carbon emissions through 2030.
Giving a sectoral breakdown of the projected cost benefits, the publishers stated that “the manufacturing sector could achieve up to $730 billion worth of benefits by 2030 through the use of 5G to enable advanced predictive maintenance and automation.”
Similarly, the report further indicated that transportation and logistics sector could get up to $280 billion in benefits by 2030 through advanced driver assistance, connected traffic infrastructure, and automated home deliveries.
This is even as the publishers noted that 5G could allow the healthcare sector to provide improved access to healthcare services for up to 1 billion patients by 2030 while simultaneously reducing emissions through higher asset utilization, reduced patient and clinician travel, and higher clinician productivity.
They further projected that 5G would be the most transformative communications technology in a generation and enable a universe of new services, including advanced energy management capabilities that will be critical to solving growing energy and sustainability challenges. It highlights the challenges of 5G energy management facing telecom operators.
While noting the network efficiency improvements and best practices that will come with the 5G, the authors stated that on the only one piece of the energy puzzle that comes with 5G, efforts must be paired with a more holistic, societal approach to curbing energy use and emissions that leverages 5G capabilities in ways far beyond the control of the telco operator.
In his comments, Vice President for global DC power and outside plant at Vertiv, a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions, Scott Armul, said “telecom operators making meaningful energy and cost reductions are doing so by evaluating the entire ecosystems around their network operations – people, objectives, infrastructure and partners.”
The publishers used research, including a survey of 500 enterprises globally, to outline the challenges telcos face as they contend with the increased energy use and costs associated with 5G.
