Overview
This research evaluates the outlook for 5G equipment, software and services as well as the market for infrastructure, devices, applications, and services beyond 5G (B5G). The report assesses the technologies, capabilities, and anticipated communications and computing solutions for 6G. It analyzes 5G evolution and the impact of anticipated 6G technologies on the ICT ecosystem including infrastructure, business planning, and innovation areas necessary to realize future capabilities and solutions beyond 5G.

The forecasts included in this report for 5G and 6G are as follows:

Global 5G forecasts include:
  • 5G NR Infrastructure Market 2020 – 2030
  • 5G Core Infrastructure Market 2020 – 2030
  • 5G Device Market 2020 – 2030
  • 5G by Consumer, Enterprise, Industrial, and Government Segments 2020 – 2030
  • 5G by Network Function (User Plane, Control Plane, Data Layer) 2020 – 2030
  •  5G Core Market by User Plane Network Functions 2020 – 2030
o   Traffic Detection

o   User Plane Function
  •  5G Core Market by Control Plane Network Functions 2020 – 2030
o   Access and Mobility

o   Management Function

o   Session Management Function

o   SMS Function

o   Traffic Detection Function

o   Network Slice Selection Function

o   NF Repository Function

o   5G Equipment Identity Register

o   Authentication Server Function

o   Unified Data Management

o   Policy Control Function

o   Network Exposure Function
  • ·5G Core Market by Data Layer Network Function 2020 – 2030
o   User Data Repository

o   Unstructured Data Storage Function
  • 5G Deployment by Non-Standalone vs. Stand-alone 2020 – 2030
  • 5G Deployment by Non-standalone Configuration 2020 – 2030
o   Option 3: (LTE assisted NR under EPC)

o   Option 4: (NR assisted LTE under 5GC)

o   Option 7: (LTE assisted NR under 5GC)
  •  5G Deployment by Standalone Configuration 2020 – 2030
o   Option 2: (NR under 5GC)

o   Option 5: (LTE under 5GC)
  • 5G Market by Device Type (Smart Phones, Tablets, Hot-Spots, Wearable Devices) 2020 – 2030

Regional 5G forecasts in the report include:
  • 5G Infrastructure Market by Region 2020 – 2030 (all of the above)
  • 5G Implementation/Deployment by Region 2020 – 2030
  • 5G Users by Region and Country 2020 – 2030

Global and Regional Beyond 5G forecasts in the report include:

·         6G Infrastructure Market 2025 – 2030

·         6G R&D Investment 2025 – 2030

Just as 5G took shape after several years of R&D focused on “beyond 4G” (B4G) technologies, the ICT industry is in a similar situation with sixth generation (6G) wireless as leading organizations begin to focus on B5G market opportunities. There will be a need for substantial engineering efforts ranging from innovation in materials science, electrical engineering, power management, and many other areas as part of a multi-disciplinary approach.

Leading companies and NGOs are focused on both the evolution of 5G as well as completely new technologies, capabilities, and solutions that will be unique to the market beyond 5G. R&D considerations are driven by ICT ecosystem economics, such as new B5G market driven business models and opportunities, as well as societal factors, such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Additionally, the 6G market will also focus on filling 5G capability gaps just as B4G intended for LTE.

Along with new opportunities will come new challenges as the 6G market will require substantial engineering and innovative approaches in many areas including the need to deal with significantly higher radio frequencies than 5G. This is because B5G is likely to leverage terahertz frequency bands as well as the lower levels used in 5G based on millimeter waveforms. As part of this technical challenge, innovation in materials science and electrical engineering will be required to devise smart surfaces necessary to help with radio signal propagation and management.

In terms of the beyond 5G market impact on business operations, 6G technologies are anticipated to accelerate the trend towards increasingly virtualized, programmable, and distributed network infrastructure. This includes 6G infrastructure within traditional carrier networks as well as further expansion of enterprise, industrial, and government owned/controlled equipment and software. Neutral hosting and managed services will continue to grow in importance as will virtual-networking and the micro-operator service model.

Report Benefits:
  • Forecasts for 5G and beyond market through 2030
  • Identify the market for 5G radio and core network infrastructure
  • Learn how 6G will provide hyper-fast short-range communications
  • Understand the importance of smart surfaces and environments in 6G
  • Learn about evolution of 6G networks from spoke-and-hub to mesh topologies
  • Identify the role of 6G in peer networking and device-to-device communications

Select Report Findings:
  • Global 5G Stand-alone infrastructure market will exceed $94B by 2025
  •  Migration to 5G Core is a 24-month endeavor including testing and integration
  • Market for 5G Core infrastructure in North America will reach nearly $14B by 2025
  • Followed by Europe and North America, the Asia Pac region will lead 6G infrastructure
  • B5G will be a boon for neutral host providers as well as micro-operator service providers
  • Teleoperations, tele-robotics, and industrial automation will be leading 6G-enabled solutions
  • Identity management and authentication will be critically important for 6G mesh networking
  • Ambient intelligence will take a major leap forward with embedded device AI in 6G networks

Organizations in the Report:
  • Huawei
  • LG
  • NTT DoCoMo
  • Samsung
  • SK Telecom
  • University of Oulu