This article is the third in a series highlighting four groups of promising telco data monetization use cases identified in a recent global poll conducted by Intersec. The first article revealed the results of the poll and explored how Communications Service Providers (CSPs) are leveraging the data they collect about their customers to sell additional services. In the second article, we covered the growing opportunity for telcos to monetize anonymized data externally by sharing it with enterprise customers and partners.
Here, we look to the future and how combining 5G connectivity, IoT sensors, and geolocation can lead to new revenue.
Author: Sébastien Synold, Product Manager, Intersec
Enabled by 5G and AI, CSPs have a new opportunity to target enterprises with solutions that compete against those provided by hyperscalers and other over over-the-top (OTT) players. Telcos can target verticals such as manufacturing, energy, agriculture, transportation, and healthcare with geolocation-enabled IoT solutions that monitor and track assets, support predictive maintenance, optimize business and manufacturing processes, and enhance productivity.
The market for such solutions is growing rapidly. Custom Market Insights predicts that the global 5G IoT Market – which includes devices, platforms, and services – will experience “substantial growth,” increasing by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 36.5% to reach $61.7 billion in 2032, up from $13.9 billion in 2023.
“The availability of robust IoT platforms and services that leverage 5G technology supports the seamless integration and management of IoT devices,” the research firm states. “This ecosystem accelerates the adoption of 5G IoT solutions across various industries.”
Tapping the enterprise market is key
5G increases network throughput by a factor of 10, improves capacity and energy efficiency by 100 times, and cuts latency from hundreds of milliseconds to 1 millisecond. Perhaps even more importantly, 5G standalone (5G SA) and its cloud-native core make telco solutions more appealing to enterprises than ever before.
By implementing 5G network slicing, CSPs can support multiple virtual networks with very different characteristics using the same physical infrastructure. So, if an enterprise requires multiple slices for different applications (for example, machine-to-machine communications for tracking IoT devices and ultra-reliable, low-latency communications for a mission-critical application like robotics), CSPs can tailor solutions to meet performance, security, and reliability requirements.
5G SA can have an even greater impact when operators leverage advanced technologies like beamforming, multi-cell round-trip time (RTT), and millimeter waves to locate devices more accurately. The technology also empowers mobile operators to open their network infrastructure to developers through APIs using the Network Exposure Function (NEF). This enables new network-as-a-service and network-as-a-platform offers, which can lead to revenue growth. We’ll discuss NEF more in the next article in the series.
Mobile Private Networks
One significant opportunity for CSPs lies in private 5G networks, which greatly improves accuracy, response time, positioning, and control of IoT devices compared to GPS and Wi-Fi. These improvements are critical for applications that require real-time processing and rapid response –autonomous vehicles, industrial automation, and augmented reality (AR), for example.
For many years, GPS has been used to deliver geolocation capabilities in industrial applications, pinpointing a device’s position with an accuracy of 10 to 20 meters. But GPS is limited because it only works outdoors and suffers from high latency. 5G geolocation cuts latency to a millisecond and can track a device with an accuracy of 1 meter or less. Indeed, if a factory or port has a high density of 5G cell sites, accuracy of 30 centimeters is possible.
5G private networks can also support a higher number of connected devices within a given area, and the networks are more secure than Wi-Fi networks, which require passwords. Another advantage of private 5G over Wi-Fi is that its availability indoors and outdoors ensures continuity of coverage. These features give enterprises more control over who has access to the network.
Promising IoT use cases
Telcos are beginning to implement many promising IoT use cases that rely on 5G and geolocation. Here are some examples:
- Connected factories – CSPs can offer geolocation services to businesses for tracking and managing assets such as vehicles, shipping containers, and equipment. This includes providing real-time location data, geofencing capabilities, and analytics to optimize asset utilization and logistics operations. For example, connected tools like screwdrivers, drills, or welding machines can be tracked in real-time to optimize workflow and ensure that the right tools are available at the right time. Companies can also analyze telemetry data from these and other devices to detect anomalies – a tool is leaving the factory when it shouldn't, for example – or changes in performance that may indicate impending failures. Geolocation in 5G SA seamlessly bridges the gap between indoor and outdoor tracking of SIM card locations. That means the IoT sensors on containers, pallets, and other assets can provide real-time location tracking throughout a facility or supply chain. This could be invaluable for a company that manufactures aircraft components in one country but assembles them in another, for example.
- Insurance telematics – insurance companies can use connected devices and network location data to offer usage-based insurance premiums based on driving habits. Using geolocation, which could be tracked via a SIM card in the vehicle or the driver’s mobile phone, increases data accuracy. For example, an insurance company might offer a discount to customers who allow the company to track the distance driven. Connected vehicles can already confirm this kind of measurement, but such data is spoofable – meaning, communication from an unknown source could be disguised as coming from a known and trusted source. The benefit of using geolocation is that network data is unspoofable – a driver cannot lie about how their device moves between cell towers.
- Connected drones – CSPs can take advantage of 5G’s centimeter-level positioning accuracy to enable management of drones. Importantly, this accuracy is provided not only in the horizontal direction, but also vertically. Geolocation can be used to confirm that drones are operating precisely where they are supposed to be within authorized air corridors. Vodafone has been experimenting with this technology and is working on creating drone services to be marketed to enterprises via the company’s IoT platform. This work includes developing a drone coverage API and location services to allow drone operators to use network intelligence to create coverage maps. Drone operators will be able to use the maps to plan predetermined flight paths avoid obstacles and crowded areas and comply with regulations.
In the next and final article in this series, we’ll look at how CSPs can use customers’ behavior data and geolocation to establish trust through identity management and increase security for applications like those discussed here. We’ll also look at how telcos can use 5G SA’s Network Exposure Function to enhance security and open their platforms to developers – and new revenue.
