What is a 5G ecosystem?

5G is expected to create a plethora of new business possibilities - including growth and revenue opportunities - for enterprises through its ultra-high-speed network. However, orchestrating multiple players and technologies to roll out new products and services can also be very challenging for companies.

Here’s where the 5G ecosystem becomes an important facilitator for enterprises.

The 5G ecosystem will bring together diverse industry partners to enable the convergence of IT infrastructure, connectivity and devices in a holistic manner. In this ecosystem, multiple individual elements form an environment where enterprises leverage the necessary technology partners to co-create new applications and solutions.

Businesses in Singapore will soon be able to derive strategic benefits from it. The 5G ecosystem will enable faster time to market and provide unprecedented access to data-driven services¹. Going forward, many innovative technologies are expected to be built on top of this digital ecosystem.

The 5G ecosystem will enable companies to launch new products or services to their customers backed by the 5G network, security, and application development tools². These will include:

Companies in the sector such as manufacturing are poised to adopt a wide range of Internet of Things (IoT) devices to enhance their productivity. Under such an ecosystem, digital device providers will supply these devices that will work compatibly on the low-latency 5G network. This will include a range of companies that can provide devices such as sensors, cameras, actuators, medical devices, smartphones and routers that will make use of the higher bandwidth services implemented with 5G.

5G digital device providers will be able to offer a new range of devices that will allow users to interact with objects remotely over the Internet. These devices will be compatible with the 5G network and will enable dynamic capabilities while fully utilising the complex efficiencies of 5G.

The independent software vendors (ISVs) will provide a wide range of software capabilities needed to deliver enhanced products or services³. These will include services like diagnostic and monitoring software to test applications and measure the performance of network elements.

Hyperscalers are operators of data centres that offer scalable cloud computing services. Having hyperscalers within the ecosystem will enable enterprises to expand their cloud computing systems and capabilities, develop software applications working side by side with digital devices providers. Hyperscalers can provide consumer-driven, mobile experiences without the use of personal data.

The primary mission of a hyperscaler is to enable enterprises and software developers to run their applications faster, more efficiently on the world's largest clouds, such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.

Through a robust 5G ecosystem, enterprises will be able to enjoy various benefits of 5G. In this unique multi-party network, interconnected partners will collaborate to bring new experiences into the hands of organisations⁴. 

Together with all the other players in the IoT environment, the ecosystem will be instrumental in driving 5G innovation that extends beyond current business cases. Enterprises will gain access to viable markets, test out a business case, evaluate the performance of applications and solutions, and develop use cases to solve new business challenges.

Find out how your business can benefit from Singtel’s 5G ecosystem today.

Learn more about how the power of 5G can unlock true value for businesses.

¹ Oracle, 5G Smart ecosystems are transforming the enterprise, December 21 2018.

² Deloitte,The 5G ecosystem – the digital haven of opportunities, September 2019.

³ McKinsey, The 5G era, January 2020.

⁴ Ericsson, How 5G is transforming the mobile ecosystem, June 30 2020.