Abstract

This IDC Market Perspective examines the key trends that will impact 5G in 2022. As 5G ecosystem vendors continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, the need to elevate 5G's impact to meet the expectations that have been set is essential to driving adoption from both consumers and businesses. Those expectations, along with the need to begin realizing a return on the billions of dollars spent to develop and deploy 5G networks, will drive the trends we expect to see in this market throughout the year.

"Despite 5G being deployed in some markets for nearly three years, 2022 is the year that the rubber hits the road and 5G vendors must 'Show, Don't Tell' the impact that 5G can have on both consumers and enterprises," says Jason Leigh, research manager, 5G and Mobility at IDC. "Hype and headlines have kept potential buyers interested in the transformative possibilities offered by 5G, but moving 5G out of the proof-of-concept/pilot phase into tangible, scalable deployments that bear out its promise will be a fundamental driver of 5G adoption in 2022."

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