Prospects for the adoption of 5G and Wi-Fi 6 in Brazil
With the recent auction of 5G technology in the country, held on November 4, Brazilian companies are starting to prepare themselves for the adoption of the next-generation connectivity.
The pandemic spurred organizations to accelerate investment in wireless networks, to better handle current disruptions and prepare for future disruptions. In a short period of time, companies had to adapt to an unprecedented scenario in which they needed to keep employees, machines and customers connected remotely. Already adopted in several countries, the 5G technology – which promises more speed to download and send files, reduce response time between different devices and make connections more stable – arrives in Brazil in the coming months and several Brazilian companies plan to join 5G and /or Wi-Fi 6 within three years.
To gain a global perspective on adopting these solutions and assessing attitudes during and after the crisis, Deloitte interviewed executives from nine countries, including Brazil, who represent companies looking to adopt these new advanced wireless technologies. The result of these interviews is the study “Accelerating enterprise innovation and transformation with 5G and Wi-Fi 6”.
The survey has shown that, by delivering significant performance improvements, these new technologies enable innovative solutions – such as autonomous vehicles, precision automation and telemedicine robotics –, more immersive experiences in retail and entertainment, and even augmented reality in the workplace.
For these and other reasons, advanced wireless connectivity is considered critical to today’s businesses – which, until recently, relied almost exclusively on wired networks. Nine out of ten Brazilian executives who participated in the study believe that advanced wireless connection technologies are very important to the success of their companies. They were also well-informed about these technologies: 92% said they have a high level of understanding of 5G; 82% understanding of Wi-Fi 6 and 78% said they had considerable understanding of machine technologies (NB-IoT and LPWA).
Innovation and transformation
In the respondents’ view, advanced wireless technologies allow companies to take advantage of the adoption of other emerging technologies, such as AI, edge computing, IoT, cloud and big data analytics – 86% believe they can create a competitive advantage by leveraging the advanced wireless connectivity. Cost reduction (39%) and efficiency improvement (37%) were the main benefits that Brazilian companies pointed out in relation to the adoption of advanced wireless connectivity. In the global survey, the creation of new products/services was the most important objective for other countries.
The ecosystem is complex and continues to evolve. Companies consider adopting advanced connectivity a strategic technology initiative and 6 out of 10 respondents who adopt advanced connectivity want to reconsider the vendors they use.
With the accelerated search for new technologies in recent months, the concern with data security and internal information has also increased. The massive adoption of the remote working model and the consequent increase in data production and circulation are two factors in a considerable list of variables that afflict organizations in relation to cybersecurity. According to Brazilian companies participating in the survey, concerns about security (45%) and backward compatibility of existing systems (43%) are the biggest challenges in adopting advanced wireless connectivity.
Enterprises must consider the usage scenarios they want to achieve to determine which wireless technology (or set of technologies) will best meet their expectations. It is essential that, in this process, what to do with the data is planned, as part of it should need cloud storage and analysis, while others will need to be processed on the intelligent edge.
There is also a need to think about innovation consistently – considering next-generation wireless technology as a fundamental part of your innovation infrastructure and strategy – and how it will integrate current technologies with new opportunities.
Access the study “Accelerating enterprise innovation and transformation with 5G and Wi-Fi 6” in its entirety