5G roll-out sets Latin America on the road to recovery

?

Latin America?already has its feet firmly in the 5G?era – with 15 million connections expected by 2022. What happens next is up to us.

As Latin America navigates its way out of the pandemic, planning for tomorrow’s opportunities is critical. The roll-out of 5G across the continent comes at a point of reflection. Beset by a multitude of challenges exacerbated by COVID-19, we are poised to make fundamental and progressive change – if we work together.

At the cross-roads of recovery, we can choose to rebuild a more resilient world. It is vital that the public and private sectors come together to realise this shared vision of a hyper connected and hybrid reality. This is where smart cities are alive and kicking, with autonomous vehicles easing citizens into their commute. It’s also where school continues come what may thanks to VR head sets and healthcare goes virtual with mobile surgeries and turbocharged vaccine production. 5G is set to transform the way we live, work and learn – if we keep fellow citizens at the heart of its design.

Connective technologies have the power to bridge social divides, reinforce employment in hybrid working environments and boost vital public services. The collaboration at the heart of these technologies will pave the way for more sustainable, human-centric societies. It will also unleash a tide of business innovations with the power to rebalance economies and set Latin America apart on the global stage.

In Brazil alone, Ericsson estimates potential revenues from digitalisation at about 391 billion reais ($69 billion) in 2030.?Of this, 153 billion reais are likely to come from the adoption of 5G technology in 10 industries, including health care, energy, agriculture and media.

?For telecom companies specifically, 5G is the opportunity to transform the industry through Open RAN: an open architecture, software-defined technology that runs on any hardware and in line with Gartner's prediction that by 2025, 75% of enterprise data will be processed at the edge.?

This is the direction to go to achieve agile and flexible infrastructures, as it allows telecom companies to choose the best vendor alternative at every investment moment. An opportunity to move away from the cost and complexity of traditional network architectures to more democratic and innovative technologies such as cloud, edge computing, and containers.?

The benefits of Open RAN range from more affordable costs to opportunities for local technology manufacturers in the country where 5G is deployed; to absolute interoperability, regardless of the decisions each company makes.

However, this cannot be done alone. Now is the time to capture tomorrow’s opportunities – and ensure no one is left behind. Working with tech experts is vital to uncovering the true value of 5G innovations. We can help to harness tomorrow’s successes with trusted counsel on the foundational infrastructures and support technologies that sustain 5G connectivity.

Together we can support business innovation and secure the roll-out of more connected public services. Latin America will flourish once again, in the zettabyte era.