Research from Nokia suggests that improved video capabilities is still 5G’s killer application for both consumers and enterprises.

We’re currently in the middle of a global pandemic and more people than ever are working from home and communicating with their loved ones remotely. Video calls have been vital for many during this period despite them often suffering from poor performance.

According to Nokia’s latest polling, 90 percent of consumers said that uninterrupted video calls will be a “very valuable” part of 5G connectivity. 83 percent of businesses said that video calls are a “compelling” use case for 5G.

Over half of the respondents (55%) find immersive experiences, through innovations like AR and VR, appealing. Around half believe that such technologies could provide a good means for employee training.

Businesses already using connected devices are more likely to see the benefits in increasing their deployments.

77 percent of companies using connected equipment find 5G-enabled remote control machinery appealing. 82 percent of respondents with existing cloud robotics deployments find the idea of 5G-enabled cloud robotics “highly appealing”.

Similarly, organisations already using connected cars are most interested in the enhancements which 5G connectivity can deliver. Nokia found the most appeal for connected vehicles where they’re being used to transport paying customers, or for safety and security purposes.

“We anticipate requirements born out of the COVID-19 pandemic will accelerate longer-term 5G plans with a focus on digitisation, automation, and analytics, which perfectly lend themselves to physical distancing, monitoring, and remote working,” said Josh Aroner, vice president marketing for Nokia’s service provider business.

Nokia’s survey was conducted prior to coronavirus becoming a full-blown pandemic. The benefits of 5G for video calling and other uses is likely to be more apparent than ever.

“We conducted this survey to demystify 5G hype and to get to the crux of what will drive enterprises to adopt 5G for their WAN and LAN applications,” Aroner continued. “It also reveals how CSPs can grow revenue by offering the services that enterprise customers are willing to pay for.”

Around 61 percent of business respondents said they still look to a mobile operator for direction when planning 5G services, despite the increasing ability to build their own private wireless networks.

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