Telcos need to adopt segmented use cases to monetise 5G: Ericsson official

The ConsumerLab has more than 20 years' experience of studying people's behaviors and values, including the way they act and think about ICT products and services

Moving beyond the simple availability of data, 5G users globally are seeking differential experiences, says Jasmeet Sethi, head of Ericsson ConsumerLab. The ConsumerLab has more than 20 years’ experience of studying people’s behaviours and values, including the way they act and think about information and communication technology (ICT) products and services. Sethi tells Subhayan Chakraborty in Delhi that targeted offerings such as fast lanes for gamers, packages for content creators and multi-view videos from stadiums are the need of the hour. Edited excerpts:

Do Indian users remain focused on data?

Today, there is no charge on 5G, it’s being given free and is unlimited. Subscribers have a 4G daily limit. Only 30 per cent of 5G users are exhausting their 4G daily limits. This tells us that these users are very advanced. They know that at some point in time, unlimited 5G offers will stop. Users foresee that 5G plans with a lot of data will be required in the future, once they are introduced.

Ericsson lab’s latest report also points out that two-thirds of 5G users have data left at the end of the month. How can telecom operators tap into this space?

These 5G smartphone users in India don't use up all their 4G data, which is on average 3 GB per day or 90 GB per month. For these users, data is not important. They are looking for differentiated experiences, which need to come about in the form of use cases. One model for operators is more apps and content bundled with the tariff plans. This is broadly happening in India with earlier bundled plans for 4G now being offered for 5G. We think this will not be enough. There can also be plans offering guaranteed performance with speed tiers. There could be a plan, which offers 100 megabits per second at all times, for which users pay a premium. Right now, 5G services remain the ‘best effort’, based on whatever the network can provide, with no guarantees of speed.

How may telcos offer differential experiences in 5G?

There is an opportunity for the operators to think about segmented use cases in the market rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. One use case has never gone mass market globally. Mobile gaming has roughly 400 million users in India today. A lot of them spend on in-game items, and care about winning in multiplayer environments. A gaming plan, which offers a fast lane with lowest possible pings to the game server, will see users take up that plan. There are 200 million-plus YouTube content creators in India, who care more about upload speeds. The networks are currently designed to give users better download speeds than upload. A 5G content creator package, offering better uplink capabilities, can be created for them. Users who visit a major venue and want to livestream won't be able to do it. A massive number of users using the same cell site at the same time won’t work. But if users can have a differentiated quality of services at that time for a charge, they will be willing to pay more to get an elevated boost in performance.  

Given that such an approach has never been tried in India, how receptive do you think Indian telecom operators will be?

There is no other option. I'm sure Indian players have seen what other operators in 5G markets are doing. There has been only one use case with a mass market appeal — enhanced video quality. Video formats are now changing from standard definition (SD) to high definition (HD) and 4K, and also to formats such as multi-view and 360-degree video. Plans in that area may cut across all user categories. Multi-view offerings for concerts and sports can be done to get camera angles, which are not possible in traditional broadcast formats. Globally, some operators are partnering clubs and startups to get this platform capability. As an example, users who have front seats at cricket matches can record a video, which can be uploaded into a Cloud server. We can create a curated feed with all the uploads happening from different parts of the stadium. This crowdsourced feed from different vantage points can be showcased to other users. The broadcasters may not initially be happy with this model. That’s why it is important to partner every stakeholder in the ecosystem.