The report – Five Ways to a Better 5G – is the result of the largest global 5G consumer study to date. Covering consumer sentiment and perception in 26 markets – including the US, China, South Korea, and the UK – the Ericsson ConsumerLab study methodology is representative of 1.3 billion smartphone users globally, including 220 million 5G subscribers.

The report explores key trends behind the adoption, use and perception of consumers with and towards 5G. A key report finding reveals that even by the end of 2020, increased awareness of service and value benefits could have resulted in 22 percent more smartphone users with 5G-ready handsets upgrading to 5G subscriptions.

The report also highlights how 5G is already beginning to trigger new use behaviors. In addition to reducing Wi-Fi use, early adopter 5G users also spend an average of two hours more on cloud gaming and one hour more on augmented reality (AR) apps per week compared to 4G users.

However, while 5G users are satisfied with speed, about 70 percent are dissatisfied with the availability of innovative services and new apps. Consumers say they are willing to pay 20 to 30 percent more for 5G plans bundled with digital service use cases.

Covid-19 lockdowns and movement restrictions mean that the vast majority of 5G early adopters’ regular experiences with the technology have been indoors. As a result, early adopters indicate that indoor coverage is two times more important than speed or battery life in delivering satisfactory 5G experiences.

The report also outlines five ways for communications service providers (CSPs) to meet consumer expectations both in the immediate and longer terms, including:

•        addressing the knowledge gap by educating and better marketing the value of 5G to consumers

•        ensuring consistent quality of indoor and outdoor 5G coverage

•        adapting to network requirements for new 5G services

•        focusing on consumer intent to envision new 5G use cases

•        accelerating availability of existing and new use cases through ecosystem partnerships

Jasmeet Singh Sethi, Head of ConsumerLab, Ericsson Research, says: “So far, analyses of 5G network experiences have mostly focused on 5G speeds and availability based on independent network measurements. But it is equally important to understand how 5G early adopters perceive that experience. With Ericsson ConsumerLab’s five recommendations and insights, CSPs can encourage 5G adoption and meet consumer expectations.”

 This year’s 5 in 5 focuses on five core areas of research that the company will tackle to enable a more sustainable future, coinciding with the first ever virtual UN General Assembly. 

From a global pandemic to global warming, 2020 has illuminated the essential role of science — as well as clear actions based on that science — to combat some of the greatest challenges of our time.

The need to rethink how the world creates, consumes and disposes of materials has never been clearer, from storing energy more efficiently, to removing CO2 from the atmosphere to growing food more sustainably.

As part of the company’s renewed focus on the urgency of science, IBM is committed to dedicating its technology, talent, and resources towards advancing research and the discovery of new materials. It will do this by advancing technologies including AI, quantum, high performance computing and hybrid cloud to turbocharge science and address the discovery process in a fundamentally new way, including these five core areas in the next five years:

Capturing and transforming CO2 to mitigate climate change

In the next five years, we will be able to capture CO2 from the air and transform it from the scourge of the environment into something useful. The goal is to make CO2 capture and reuse efficient enough to scale globally so we can significantly reduce the level of the harmful CO2 in the atmosphere and, ultimately, slow climate change.

Modeling Mother Nature to feed a growing citizenry while reducing carbon emissions

In the next five years, we will replicate nature’s ability to convert nitrogen in the soil into nitrate-rich fertilizer, feeding the growing world while reducing the environmental impact of fertilizers. We’ll come up with an innovative solution to enable nitrogen fixation at a sustainable scale and help feed the world’s rapidly growing population.

Rethinking batteries before we have to rethink our world

In the next five years, we will discover new materials for safer and more environmentally-preferable batteries capable of supporting a renewable-based energy grid and more sustainable transportation. Many renewable energy sources are intermittent and require storage. The use of AI and quantum computing will result in batteries built with safer and more efficient materials for improved performance.

Sustainable materials, sustainable products, sustainable planet

In the next five years, we will advance materials manufacturing, enabling semiconductor manufacturers to improve the sustainability of their coveted products. Scientists will embrace a new approach to materials design that enables the tech industry to more quickly produce sustainable materials for the production of semiconductors and electronic devices.

Learning from our past for a healthier future

In the next five years, we aim to help facilitate the generation of treatments to aid physicians and front-line workers in combating novel, life-threatening viruses on a larger scale than is currently possible. A combination of AI, analytics and data can potentially help with the rapid analysis of real-world medical evidence to suggest new candidates for drug repurposing and speed clinical trials. In the future, these tools may reach widespread adoption across industries, effectively becoming one of the means of rapidly responding to global, life-threatening viruses.

About 84 per cent of chief executive officers in Nigeria have agreed that real estate industry in Nigeria is plagued due to the pandemic, especially, companies in the business of office rentals.

This revelation is contained in the recently published CEO Report, a Philips Consulting initiative for 100 Nigerian business leaders.

The PCL. CEO Report further stated that 83 per cent and 55 per cent of CEOs have adopted a ‘Work From Home Strategy’ and ‘Standby Model Strategy’ respectively, and are beginning to question the need for large office spaces.

“Only 46 per cent CEOs are considering retaining their current offices, while others will seek smaller and cheaper offices, shared offices, or adopt an entirely virtual working model,” added the Report.

 In commercial cities like Lagos where massive high-rise office complexes are commonplace, real estate players must be ready for a shift in demand. They might be forced to repurpose their buildings or provide new services to suit the new mode of work, the Report recommended.

The survey that recently engaged 100 Nigeria business leaders on the current economic landscape and presented the insights in its “CEO Report” said, “One word that best describes today’s business environment is “uncertain”. The ‘new normal’ occasioned by the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic is gradually fading away and being replaced by what is termed the ‘next normal’.

Amidst the frenzy of realigning strategies to better position businesses for recovery after the pandemic, the Philips Consulting’s CEO, Rob Taiwo mentioned that “We have been hit with the harsh reality that the Coronavirus might be here to stay. There is no going back to normal; instead, we have a next normal that is unpredictable.”

He said, the conversation to be had now is how to prepare for a future full of unknowns. Speaking on which industries benefit from the crisis, Taiwo, a transformational leader said, “Globally, the IT sector experienced a surge in the wake of the pandemic, as a result of the shift to remote working.

“This resulted in a heavy reliance (or dependence) on IT products for both personal and business purposes.” Nigeria is no exception, he stated, “From our survey, 86 per cent of CEOs reported that the pandemic led to them improving the IT infrastructure of their organizations. Our respondents predict that Nigeria’s healthcare, agribusiness, and manufacturing industries stand to benefit from the next normal.”

“They expect the professional services industry to experience comparatively minimal disruption. This is primarily due to their vast array of services, relatively low operational expense, lean and agile business model, and legacy clients.”

On the levels of preparedness for the pandemic, the Report said, only 6 per cent of CEOs reported that their organizations were prepared for the pandemic. Hence, it comes as no surprise that 55 per cent of Nigerian businesses are currently operating below 50 per cent of their operating capacity.

The 6 per cent mentioned above stated a strong leadership team as the most critical factor of their preparedness. Other important factors include having a robust business continuity plan, government support, and a well-articulated business strategy.

On forging ahead into the next normal, the CEOs Report revealed that 57 per cent of CEOs expect that the earliest possible time for the business environment in Nigeria to normalize will be August 2021.

CEOs are increasingly taking responsibility for their companies, and are not necessarily looking up to the government for solutions to the problems occasioned by the pandemic. As against the 79 per cent of CEOs that voted in the 2019 general elections, only 67 per cent of CEOs reported that the pandemic would make them more interested in the outcome of the 2023 election.

Taiwo said, “Results from our survey showed that the Nigerian government and business leaders should pay close attention to the post-COVID19 policies and strategies of the United Kingdom, China, and the United States of America as these will have the most profound impact on the Nigerian business environment.

“At pcl., we are committed to working with our clients and partners to build and develop people’s capabilities, technology systems and processes, effective and robust strategies, and business continuity plans. Let us work with you to future proof your business in the next normal.”