During his keynote presentation at CES 2021, Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg remarked, “5G is an overlay for the entire global economy.” He cited 5G technology’s unparalleled upload and download speeds, enormous capacity and ultra-low lag, explaining that these features support more connected devices and mobile connection and provide faster, more responsive service deployment and “a new standard for energy efficiency and reliability.”

The powerful capabilities will give large enterprises the ability to operate in real time and small businesses and consumers access to technology that until recently was only available to large tech companies and research institutions, according to Vestberg, who leads one of the major developers of 5G networks in the U.S.
In a recent blog post, eRetailer observed that 5G technology is blurring the line between physical and digital retail.
As eRetailer noted, “Against a backdrop of turmoil in 2020, the retail industry overall is set for growth in 2021. With digital transformation efforts accelerating under urgent conditions, investments in digital infrastructure should grow this year. And as 5G networks are finally starting to take off, the technology could bring about positive changes for retail in the near and long terms.”

Additionally, eRetailer said that retailers will invest in 5G to enhance the customer experience, both in-store and online. “AR/VR applications and payment systems will be beneficiaries on the customer side. Store operations like inventory management and fulfillment will be bolstered by investments in store data/analytics and internet of things (IoT) systems, including computer vision systems.”

eRetailer cited a January 2020 Splunk survey that found that 21 percent of retail IT and business managers worldwide said 5G services were currently in use by their organization. Some 63 percent expected their company would adopt 5G services in the future.