The figures also suggest that 88 per cent of European operators are planning to offer “new multi-screen pay-TV services,” taking advantage of the drastically increased bandwidth and reduced latency which 5G is anticipated to provide. More than 40 per cent of the companies surveyed meanwhile also intend to own a sports team, something which the report anticipates is likely to result in increased connectivity at venues.
According to Amdocs, the research was conducted amongst ‘C-level executives’, with respondents coming from the “world’s 100 largest operators.”
Speaking of the findings, chief marketing officer at Amdocs, Gary Miles, said: “It’s essential for operators to find successful use cases for 5G given the investment levels. Our research has revealed that major live sports events could hold the key to consumer adoption of 5G.”
He continued: “Operators have identified these events as the springboard for rollout of a whole range of new interactive and immersive services. This will give consumers their first real taste of what 5G can deliver and allow operators to showcase the capabilities of their next-generation networks.
“Expect to see the first of these new services and applications deployed in conjunction with the 2020 soccer tournaments in Europe, among other big events in the sports calendar. Audiences could, for example, watch instant replays and 360-degree streams, or look up player stats via AR and virtual reality technology, bringing them much closer to the action.”
The research was conducted on behalf of Amdocs by consultant Ovum.
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