Slow roll-out of standalone 5G risks UK SMEs taking annual £8.6bn hit

Pelican Press · March 17

Slow roll-out of standalone 5G risks *** SMEs taking annual £8.6bn hit

As a result of government schemes and investment from the private sector, *** mobile coverage has spread its wings rapidly over the recent past, but a study from *** operator Vodafone is warning that *** business risks being outpaced by ********* rivals that are investing in reliable, superfast 5G connectivity at a faster rate, with the threat greatest to small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that could be missing out on up to £8.6bn a year in productivity savings due to the slow roll-out of standalone 5G.

The

This is the hidden content, please

Sign In

or

Sign Up

study highlighted how the accelerated roll-out of new 5G Standalone could boost productivity among SMEs. It modelled the competitiveness of 17 ********* countries in relation to small business growth using three metrics: 5G coverage, SME adoption of 5G-enabled technology and 5G speeds.

Putting its study into context, Vodafone noted that with 5.6 million SMEs operating today, they account for 99.9% of the ***’s private sector businesses. Describing them as the pillars of the local communities they serve and the wider economy at large, the operator said it regarded SMEs as playing a pivotal role in driving job creation, sparking innovation, developing regional economic activity, fostering entrepreneurship and diversity, and making significant contributions to the ***’s ****** Domestic Product (GDP).

Yet while Vodafone stressed that the *** ******** one of the best countries in which to start and develop a new business, the study found other countries, such as Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland and Denmark, were investing in reliable, superfast 5G connectivity at a faster rate.

The *** is currently on course to be the fifth most attractive place in Europe for SMEs to use technology to grow, trailing only Denmark, Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands. However, Vodafone could leapfrog all of its rivals into second place – behind only Denmark – if it can accelerate the roll-out of 5G Standalone (5G SA) networks, which the operator said had the potential to deliver vast economic savings to small businesses.

In a potential use case, Vodafone suggested small agricultural businesses could see the average farmworker save over three working weeks of their time by utilising 5G SA-enabled technologies – such as soil, weather and equipment monitors – which drive efficiency savings by ensuring that workers can identify and prioritise issues in real time. Deploying 5G SA at speed, and accelerating the development of the technology it enables, would lead to a collective saving of over 37.7 million working hours a year across the sector. This would deliver £112m in annual productivity savings and empower SMEs to reinvest, driving business growth.

Similarly, over two million employees in the retail sector could save over 45.3 million working hours a year by deploying 5G SA-enabled technologies, such as internet of things stock maintenance systems. These are seen as enabling monitor stocktakes and depletion, avoiding laborious manual checks and freeing up workers so they have time to complete other important tasks. Such technology could contribute to productivity savings of £1.85bn a year.

Offering a call to action, the report warned that there was only a limited window of opportunity to act while the quality of digital infrastructure ******** a competitive advantage in the global economy. It concluded that with the *** having historically been a global leader, it was essential that it does not fall behind its ********* rivals at such a crucial moment.

“*** SMEs are already some of the most advanced in Europe at integrating digital tools into their businesses, and we’d hate to see them get left behind by not having adequate access to best-in-class connectivity such as 5G Standalone,” said