Almost every fifth large Belgian company is interested in setting up a private 5G network at its premises. 60 percent believe that 5G will have a significant impact on the business as a whole.

60 percent of Belgian companies with 200 or more employees believe that 5G will have a significant impact on the company. 18 percent are even interested in a private 5G network. This is the result of a survey by the industry organization Beltug.

The results are interesting. On the one hand, interest in 5G has increased significantly. In a previous poll in 2021, just 47 percent thought 5G would be important to the company. Now that the spectrum has finally been auctioned off in Belgium and 5G is developing from a promise of the future to a concrete product, people’s minds have matured.

5G, but not always private

Ten percent of respondents say 5G is already important to their business. 3 percent assume that this will be the case in the course of the year. Thirteen percent believe it will be two more years before 5G becomes relevant to their business, and 32 percent believe it will take a little longer. However, nineteen percent say 5G will never be relevant to their business.

On the other hand, interest in private 5G has declined since 2021. At that time, 36 percent still thought that some form of private 5G would be interesting, often with spectrum from a telecom operator, but sometimes with their own spectrum. Now that private 5G is available, the companies seem to have done their homework. The conclusion from this is obviously that private 5G is not always a must. Nearly one in five large companies continue to see benefits in a private network. It’s still a big market, even in our relatively small country.

Waiting for 5G standalone

However, companies continue to wait impatiently for the various promises of 5G to be fulfilled. The networks will be rolled out today, but we still have to wait for specific 5G-exclusive services. After all, the providers have to do more than just build 5G antennas. In order to deliver all the benefits, including network slicing and reliable, low-latency connections, to businesses in a relevant way, the back end must also be ready. The rollout of such 5G stand alone is in full swing.

In any case, companies are realizing that 5G is not something to plug into, after which a digital transformation has taken place. Support the technology on complex multi-year projects. Before these can start, most of those surveyed still have to wait for concrete solutions and tariffs from the operators for the advanced 5G functions.