Journey to 5G adoption: Key network transformation areas Adoption of 5G is one of the major focus areas of most global Telco providers currently with hopes o f utilizing 5G to provide many new services to users & creating new revenue streams. In order to achieve the same Telcos have been on a network transformation journey from last 4–5years by initially focusing on virtualizing their Infrastructure & Network Elements & then on moving network to the cloud by adopting cloud technologies. However, based on where the operator is located,the regulatory norms and technology adoption status in the region and their financial health, the operators are in different phases of the transformation. While transformation is essentially never ending, in this article we will be briefly looking into the key areas of network transformation that network operators need to focus on as part of their 5G adoption roadmap to realize maximum benefits of 5G .
In the last 1–2 yrs there has been a lot of buzz around 5G with many operators announcing launch of 5G in many countries globally while some declaring that they are 5G ready where spectrum allocation is pending. Now, while this all sounds very exciting, the question that really arises is that in start of 2021 what service are Telco providers offering & whats the bigger picture — “Truly 5G” [I have taken liberty of using the word “Truly 5G” here for describing state of network that has been optimized to realize maximum benefits of what 5G can offer. (See below for some of its key aspects) ] The 5G Network ready today in 2021 by most operators is a version of “Truly 5G” which is capable of providing Mobile Broadband for public to use & officially “launching 5G” (from marketing perspective). For a normal Cell Phone user “5G” is a mere new hot trend that is cool to have and promising to deliver higher data speeds & lower latency. However, for all practical purpos