UK5G Survey Finds UK Businesses are Prepared for 5G Mobile

A new survey of UK businesses, which was commissioned by UK5G – the national innovation network dedicated to accelerating the adoption of 5G in the UK, has claimed that the vast majority of UK businesses (70%) are already using or planning to deploy 5G services and networks. But cost is still a key barrier to adoption.

The research itself was conducted by Coleman Parkes and aimed to reach 300 IT Decisions Makers in April 2022 via an online survey. A representative number of respondents came from every region in the UK and were equally split across four verticals: Creative industries, Manufacturing, Transport & Logistics and Health and Social Care. Respondent’s businesses had on average 590 employees and annual revenue of £261m.

Interestingly, 73% of the businesses surveyed were confident that they understood the benefits of 5G mobile (mobile broadband) technology, while 70% have a plan for how they will use it to achieve competitive advantage. Furthermore, 66% believe 5G will make a positive contribution to their corporate sustainability efforts as well as help to improve customer experience (65%). But some problems remain.

Additional Highlights

➤ 63% of businesses cited the complexity and cost of infrastructure, installation and integration as the main challenge to overcome.

➤ 53% say another inhibitor is that their organisation does not fully understand how to deploy 5G solutions.

➤ 45% of businesses are planning to make investments in 5G by 2023.

➤ 66% said industry-specific benefits of 5G would incentivise them to invest.

➤ 58% require further guidance on how to integrate 5G with existing infrastructure, while 51% would see value in best practice guides to assist with their deployment.

➤ Organisations also want to see further insight being shared by the technology and telecoms industry, with 46% saying they will turn to big tech and 40% looking to mobile network operators (MNOs) to improve their grasp on how to deploy 5G in a way that is commercially viable.

Bob Driver, Head of UK5G, said: “5G, along with other forms of advanced communications, has the potential to transform business models, generate new revenue streams by unleashing the Internet of Things, and give organisations new insights through data that enable them to improve the service they provide for customers. This encouraging research shows the appetite of business in sectors such as the creatives industries, transport and logistics, manufacturing and health and social care, to embrace the opportunities 5G can bring.”