5G Charging and Monetization Growth Opportunities

Fifth-generation (5G) technology represents a fundamental shift in communication network architectures, accelerating revenue generation through innovative services that 5G-enabled smartphones, tablets, laptops, and internet of things devices facilitate. This breakthrough technology delivers a potent combination of network capabilities and flexible options for network deployment that communications service providers can use to deliver differentiated, customized, and scalable wireless experiences. The expansion of 5G is happening faster than the previous generations of mobile technologies: it took nearly 12 years for 3G technology to reach a billion users and approximately 4.5 years for 4G; 5G will reach this milestone in less than 3 years. While eMBB (enhanced mobile broadband) services on 5G smartphones remain popular, the emergence of fixed wireless access has become a significant growth driver of 5G services. Private wireless networks, along with the promising prospects of network slicing (standards of which are still being finalized), will fuel the expansion of 5G. This Frost & Sullivan insight presents an overview of the emerging monetization opportunities in 5G communications. The primary goal of this research is to examine emerging technologies, standards, and approaches that facilitate the monetization of advanced 5G services. Related aspects of associated business support systems and operations support systems, including charging, billing, service and network orchestration, partner ecosystem enablement, network exposure, and lifecycle management of emerging services are also discussed. Profiles of three leading industry solution providers—Amdocs, CSG Systems International, and MATRIXX Software—are included. Author: Vikrant Gandhi