Omdia's Nicole McCormick: How to really sell 5G to consumers

Telcos are excitedly deploying 5G and advertising it nonstop during American football games and there's a good reason for that: Making money from consumer 5G is challenging and may take a while.

Omdia analyst Nicole McCormick joins the podcast this week to discuss her latest research on 5G pricing and what seems to be catching on with consumers. She's looked at 158 network operators around the globe and has come up with "six basic ways that operators are charging consumers for 5G service."

In this podcast we discuss the merits of those various models and talk about a few examples where operators are having success.

New app city

One of the most important findings is that consumers expect more than just faster download speeds; they want access to better apps on 5G, McCormick said. And this could be one of the "more sophisticated ways" network operators make money on 5G – offering 5G-rich apps, such as cloud gaming and augmented reality apps, maps and games. Several operators realize this but "only about 22%" of the telcos tracked by Omdia are "actively engaged in this new ecosystem," McCormick said.

We wrap up talking about how and why some operators were able to capitalize on the 5G opportunity so quickly and what lessons their success has for the rest of the world. We also address 5G affordability and how long it will take to get those more data-rich 5G apps in the hands of the consumers that might use them most.

Related links:

• For more podcast episodes and more ways to list, please visit the Light Reading Podcast page on Acast.
• McCormick's latest report, "2022 Trends to Watch: 5G Data and Tariff Innovation," is available now for Omdia subscribers.

— Phil Harvey, Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading