5G networks are expanding to drive new, diverse use cases and innovative mobile-first experiences. Organizations are preparing their 5G strategies accordingly to help fuel transformation, support digital business processes, and improve how people collaborate and connect.
My name is Ronald van Loon and I’m a T-Mobile for Business partner. Recently, I had the opportunity to analyze the anticipated impact of 5G across key industries, including healthcare, construction, and education, in the next year.
Globally, the 5G services market is on track to reach $1.87 trillion by 2030, up from $64 billion in 2021. This demonstrates the growing demand for fast, reliable network coverage and internet subscriptions and the increasing demand for high-speed connectivity.
5G Outlook in Healthcare, Construction, and Education
Healthcare
Healthcare organizations are striving to improve patient and clinician experiences, reduce healthcare costs, improve healthcare equity, and explore value-based services.
5G adoption in healthcare is growing, with two out of three providers investing in 5G-enabled devices to support a broad variety of 5G use cases over the coming years. For example, improved telehealth can extend critical healthcare services, including diagnostics, education, and care management, to patients in urban areas with medical deserts who typically represent underserved communities.
Fresh connectivity approaches via 5G technology will help healthcare organizations by:
- Supporting business resilience via different telehealth programs, including addressing on-site mental healthcare shortages, augmenting ER personnel when treating patients en route to hospitals, and expediting the transmission of massive healthcare files for specialists.
- Supporting integration with AI, virtual reality, robotics, and augmented reality to reduce hospital stay lengths, increase consultations, and enhance patient quality of life.
- Supporting use cases like surgical robots, remote patient monitoring, at-home hospital care, and immersive medical training.
- Delivering significant cost savings for patients, averaging $126 per visit via virtual health, and $3 million annually for payers via live health coaching.
Construction
The construction industry faces challenges like extreme labor and material shortages, competition against other sectors, safety risks, and slow technology adoption.
5G development will bring more automation to construction and improve how structures are built due to the potential for network latency as low as 1 millisecond and high bandwidth. 5G provides better connectivity to reinforce more systems, machines and devices within a particular location – which will spark more imaginative construction techniques. For example, a four-bedroom house can be 3D printed at 90% lower cost than traditional construction approaches thanks to 5G-synchronized 3D printing.
5G is modernizing construction operating models and supporting more streamlined, scalable tasks by:
- Alleviating worker safety risks; 20% of workplace deaths in the U.S. happen in construction and can be prevented via robot inspections in high-risk sites, or sensors that monitor air quality.
- Reducing construction times by 50% – 70% via 3D printing.
- Helping construction companies attract talent by promoting knowledge sharing, eradicating travel burdens, and creating new, tech-centric job roles.
- Supporting energy-efficient property development with intelligent building design and materials.
Education
Higher education has experienced record-setting declines in enrollment since 2020, with over 1 million fewer students enrolled in colleges and universities in the U.S. However, increasing education costs and growing student debt are contributing to this issue.
5G-driven resources deployed in classrooms, IT operations and within campuses can help institutions of higher education (IHEs) improve revenue and boost student enrollment. 75% of IHEs are already in development or preparing phases for 5G deployment.
Public and private IHEs can leverage 5G and AI across numerous facets of marketing, administrative and educational processes:
- Using AI to analyze student systems data, like Blackboard, to recommend projects for students to enhance course success levels and offer targeted support.
- Supporting extended reality (XR) use cases in classrooms for more immersive, low-latency learning experiences.
- Enabling interoperability across campus operations, academic systems, and marketing technology, via low-latency communication and higher data transfer rates.
On the Verge of New 5G-Driven Transformation
In healthcare, construction, and education, adopting fresh approaches to 5G will continue to become increasingly vital to overcome challenges, improve business outcomes, and accelerate creativity.
By Ronald van Loon
