5G has long been touted as a major advancement in mobile phone capabilities, with promises of faster speeds, improved latency, and more. But recently there have been many questions raised around the technology’s ability to deliver on these promises. As telecoms and customers alike have failed to live up to the hype, network operators have struggled to monetise their investments of almost 600 billion euros in Europe over the past decade. Consumers seem unimpressed and are yet to get excited about 5G capabilities. The Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson recently laid off 8,500 people after profits slumped. This decision was made despite investing heavily in 5G technology and launching new projects such as ‘Ericsson Unite’, which aimed to connect devices across different radio access networks. While this project was successful, it still couldn’t save Ericsson from posting weak earnings for the fourth quarter of 2019. Companies like Verizon have also rolled out 5G and are working on projects to improve security and supply chain management for customers. While some have seen results from these efforts, others remain uncertain if consumers will be as starry-eyed about 5G adoption as telecos had promised when they first announced plans for the technology’s deployment.
The problems plaguing 5G today don’t just lie with smartphones either. Network operators often find issues due to bottlenecked data speeds when trying to connect large numbers of devices at once or configure complex network systems – both of which were promised with the release of 5G technology but remain unattained for now. It remains unclear whether or not 5G will truly benefit customers or if it will be another example of big companies making huge investments only to receive little return. One thing is certain though – telecoms need an answer soon or they risk being left behind as other tech giants race ahead in the global arms race that is mobile capability development. Only time will tell if 5G can live up to the hype, but for now it seems that telecoms may have set their expectations too high. While 5G has certainly seen some improvements over 4G and other technologies, the technology has failed to meet initial projections when it comes to scalability and user satisfaction. With competition from other companies like Google, Apple and Samsung, telecoms will have to continue to innovate if they want to stay at the top of the mobile game. Until then, it looks like 5G will remain a disappointment for all involved.