5G commercial deployment: Lessons from international experience

2023 is the time for the transition to 5G network development

The countries with the fastest 5G development speed in 2022 all spend a large amount of money to expand 5G coverage. Some countries have a very large investment in 5G deployment, such as China, Korea, Japan, the United States, and Spain.

However, no country has yet achieved absolute 5G coverage for the entire population. For example, Japan aims to develop a 5G network, by 2025 to build a 5G network that covers 97% of Japan’s population (equivalent to 300,000 5G base stations), to build a 5G network that covers 99% of Japan’s population. equivalent to 600,000 base stations) by 2030.

According to Ericsson’s report in 2022, 30% of the world’s population has access to 5G and is expected to reach 85% by 2028. Many carriers are currently implementing 5G NSA architecture in the early stages and plan to migrate to 5G SA architecture when there is a high demand in user experience.

The growth of 4G subscribers reached a peak at the end of 2022 and began to decline in the coming period to gradually switch to 5G subscribers. The number of 2G/3G subscribers continues to decline. This suggests that 2023 is the time for the transition to 5G network development.

The majority of countries will choose to apply Open Radio Network (Open Ran) technology. This technology helps to reduce investment costs by 30%, thus improving competitiveness. In order to soon popularize 5G, it is necessary to build a mature 5G application ecosystem from low frequency to high frequency.

Policies of the Ministry of Information and Communications to successfully commercialize 5G

According to Nguyen Phong Nha, Deputy Director of the Department of Telecommunication, Ministry of Information and Communications, compared with previous generations of 3G and 4G networks, 5G is designed to create a favorable platform to help promote innovation and developing many different industries and fields such as entertainment, transportation, industrial production, health care, education, energy, agriculture, smart city… Therefore, both management agencies , operators, solution providers need to care, cooperate strongly to identify potential applications and business models on 5G network infrastructure and services for the early and long term. of the 5G development process.

The ITU has recommended three main use cases to be considered before discussing applications in several industries when adopting 5G technology including: Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB); Mass Machine Interface (mMTC); Ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC).

From this recommendation and 08 key sectors and fields for comprehensive digital economy and digital society development according to the National Strategy for Digital Economy and Digital Society Development to 2025, with orientation to 2030 (Decision No. 411/QD-TTg dated March 31, 2022 of the Prime Minister), some specific directions have been developed by the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Firstly, the process of 5G application is the process of promoting digital transformation of the whole society and expanding the digital economy. In Vietnam, there are many industries and fields, the level of digital transformation and the development stage of each industry, each business is different, the needs are very different, and the individualization is different. Therefore, the Ministry of Information and Communications recommends that carriers and solution providers need to actively learn the needs of each industry and field so that the development of 5G applications closely combines with the characteristics and development needs of the network. industries and fields, gradually focusing on a number of key industries with good demand for black 5G application; then it will be promoted, introduced and then gradually replicated to other industries and fields.

Secondly , the strong use of 5G by localities and businesses as well as new technology models will help change production and business models, improve productivity, and ensure sustainable development goals. Therefore, ministries, sectors, localities and associations need to strengthen coordination with network operators and solution providers to research and build appropriate 5G applications that combine characteristics and advantages. regions, industries and fields and accelerate the implementation of those 5G applications into practice.

Third , the 5G application standards system plays an important role in supporting, promoting the replication and promotion of 5G applications on a large scale. Therefore, ministries, sectors and associations need to coordinate with network operators and solution providers to research and build a system of 5G integrated application standards in key industries and fields such as common standards for basic infrastructure and technology. standards, standards for integrated devices and standards for applying new technologies to 5G such as AI, Big Data, IoT,….

Fourth , the 5G ecosystem is not only 5G mobile network, but also involves many different technologies such as IoT, Cloud, Big Data, AI, etc. The result would be a large number of different applications, which could not form a business-scale advantage, and could not reduce R&D costs. Therefore, in the coming time, we need to join hands to build strong partnerships and cooperation among stakeholders in the 5G Use-case ecosystem (Telecom carriers, Solution Providers and Manufacturers). equipment) to quickly address the needs of people and businesses.