Communications service providers, Ericsson could earn up to USD 3.7 trillion in cumulative 5G-enabled consumer revenues by 2030. This was gathered from the new Harnessing the 5G Consumer Potential report from Ericsson ConsumerLab which estimates that communications service providers (CSPs) could earn USD 3.7 trillion of that total – a figure that could increase further as new adjacent digital services opportunities arise.

Jasmeet Singh Sethi, Head of ConsumerLab, Ericsson Research, said: “This is the first time that Ericsson has presented a revenue forecast for the 5G consumer market, which remains the core business of communications service providers. Through our research, we have highlighted the role of use case development, tariff innovation, quality 5G coverage and ecosystem partnerships to unlock the true potential of this market. It is clear that 5G will drive enormous opportunities for CSPs in consumer business over the decade. As this journey is already underway, those CSPs that quickly and proactively evolve their consumer propositions are likely to be bigger winners.”

The report also estimates that CSPs could generate up to USD 131 billion by 2030 from digital service revenues alone, by proactively bundling and marketing 5G used cases. About 40 percent of these revenue projections are attributed to consumer spending on enhanced video, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and cloud gaming over 5G networks.

Key findings also highlight how the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on personal finances and financial priorities may have affected consumers’ willingness to pay a premium for 5G subscriptions.

In May 2019, Ericsson ConsumerLab released a report that measured consumer interest across more than 30 used cases and their willingness to pay for them. The new 5G Consumer Potential report builds on those insights through business potential forecasts, both for service providers and the larger ICT ecosystem.