In an interview with Expansion Enrique Yamuni, CEO of Megacable, mentioned that the adoption of 5G in Mexico will be long and could even take up to eight years.
Given this, doubts arise: who will be able to adopt this new network and what are the benefits at the national level?
5G: beyond smartphones
The networks are not only used to quickly download images to your phone or consume high-resolution videos while you are on the subway. Juan Carlos Parra, Director of Telecommunications at IDC in Mexico, explained that the benefits of this network can be seen from two perspectives: the B2B (Business to Business) or B2C (Business to Consumer) part.
“The 5G network enters as a disruptive tool within these models,” said Parra. This is because, through the benefits offered by the 5G network —greater speed, lower latency, greater security, among others—, the business sector can benefit from having better monitoring in almost real time and making productive models, from production and manufacturing faster and more efficient.
According to Parra, the benefited sector within 5G technology will be the entire Mexican population as the deployment increases, the operation stabilizes and people can have access to the technology.
This is because a recycling of technologies will occur. In other words, in areas where there was 2G coverage, it will be replaced by 3G; where there was 3G, there will be 4G, and where there was 4G, there will be 5G.
According to IDC data, users are wanting to adopt the 5G network due to four main factors:
- Have access to the cloud and download speed.
- Flexibility when handling information.
- Agility in connectivity and information transport.
- Gaming.
The 5G gap
The lack of access to 5G technology can occur mainly for three reasons: access to devices, lack of coverage, and the usage gap.
For a user to access the 5G network from their device, they must have a phone that is compatible with the network. Among the main ones that the telephone companies highlighted this year were high-end phones, such as the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra or the iPhones 13 and 14.
However, brands like Oppo and Xiaomi are looking to make 5G-compatible mid-range and low-end phones, like the OPPO A77 or the Xiaomi Redmi Note.
There are still several territories in the country with little or no coverage, especially in rural and indigenous areas. For example, according to figures from the Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT), the Huichols only have 53% coverage in their territory, of which only 27% reaches 4G. The Coras are one of the ethnic groups with the least coverage of all, with only 37% in their entire region.
In addition to the lack of profitability for companies, Parra attributes it to the fact that there is still misinformation in many areas of the country regarding coverage. For example, a video began to circulate on social networks where They claimed that the 5G network caused coronavirus . This type of misinformation has caused communities to reject the installation of towers.
Finally, the lack of knowledge about how to get the most out of the devices is another barrier.
The annual report “The mobile economy in Latin America 2022” from the GSM Association (GSMA) of mobile operators and related companies, showed that the challenge for the industry and governments is to connect the 230 million people —36% of the population — facing barriers unrelated to network coverage.
In the case of Mexico, 64% of the population is connected but 31% faces the use gap barrier.