5G, Entertainment, Cloud and More: 2020 Amdocs Predictions

By -Anthony Goonetilleke, Group President, Media, Network and Technology, Amdocs

5G deployment will continue to gather momentum

Apple may have slowed the 5G arms race, but 5G (standalone) should be ready for prime-time next year.  As the adoption of 5G accelerates in 2020, we'll notice technologies coming together that drive innovation – both in the consumer and enterprise spaces.

Consumers generally recognize speed as the logical impact of 5G’s rollout. However, there is an entire suite of functionality, ranging from low latency, security, support for IoT and network slicing that will create endless opportunities. The industry will act on this to drive innovation on the back of 5G and find new ways to monetize.

Connecting rural areas will be a 5G priority

Across the U.S., organizations have been preparing for the onset of 5G. While urban areas are leading the charge, rural communities will set their sights on bringing new high-speed fixed wireless access to underdeveloped superhighways in 2020. Yet with environmental barriers such as trees, 5G may take longer to deploy in these areas, and lower frequency spectrum will come out on top to better serve rural space. As part of this process, we will start to see traditional wireless-only providers stepping into the land of high-speed broadband with this evolution, benefiting rural America.

Cloud gaming and 5G will move us closer to a post-console world

When it comes to gaming, we’re starting to see a move from hardware to platforms, which 5G networks can better enable. The big differentiator for 2020 is edge computing and low latency. The console experience will evolve to the home hub, and service providers will be getting intro streaming-type gaming systems, asking, “How do I own the HDMI port to every TV set in the house,” either via gaming or content.

Reskilling the workforce will be an increased priority

We are already seeing a shift in the workforce as employees change their mindsets and adopt a mentality of continuous learning. In 2020, we’ll see an accelerated pace of change in reskilling due to the digitization of our society. This will render the education that younger people are going through today less relevant – particularly from a skills and tools perspective – by the time they’re actively contributing to the workforce. This rapid shift will force organizations to implement tools, managerial support, and new platform adoption to create an environment that fosters this change.