Predictions revolving around the future of 5G often give top billing to gigabit data rates on the broadband side, but there isn’t as much direct forecasting related to 5G’s eventual role as a full-on alternative to traditional TV services worldwide. However, more prognostications are starting to be released around this topic. For example, a new research note put out on Monday by Strategy Analytics suggests that combining 5G with other networking enhancements and technologies could allow operators to support TV-equivalent services that are currently served by cable, satellite, IPTV, and terrestrial broadcast service providers.
“Data rates get the headlines, but other network technologies will also make or break the business case for 5G TV services,” Sue Rudd, director, service provider analysis at Strategy Anaytics, says. “The efficiency of the end-to-end network will determine whether 5G TV is possible, but we have seen enough from early demonstrations by operators like Verizon, Deutsche Telekom, SK Telecom, AT&T, and BT to suggest that it will arrive sooner or later in many parts of the world.”
The research firm stresses that the number of households and devices supported by a 5G TV service within any cell could prove out as a major influence on the 5G TV business case. The number of termination locations can be increased by a factor of three or more by deploying several network enhancements that deliver trunking efficiency in the Radio Access Network (RAN). These include MIMO and beamforming for optimal spectrum use, virtualization of cell sites, dynamic throughput over backhaul networks, and network slicing to guarantee data rates to the household.
“Television is already being transformed by new digital services like Netflix and Amazon,” notes Michael Goodman, Director, TV and Media Strategies. “The arrival of 5G TV wireless services could herald another wave of TV disruption through the 2020s and beyond.”
While 5G TV potentials could be on the rise, streaming services probably won’t slow down their efforts to shift the traditional video landscape any time soon. Netflix, for example, had a huge Q4 2016, and now has around 94 million subscribers in 190 countries, after adding another 1.9 million in the U.S. and 5.1 million in its overseas markets during the quarter. RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Mahaney of RBC Capital Markets predicts Netflix will have 160 million streaming subscribers by 2020, the Associated Press reports.