At the moment, the world is still coming to terms with what the metaverse is all about. However, the industry, especially participating brands believes that the metaverse is the future. Just like mobile phones, the metaverse may change the way we communicate. Many brands are getting involved in the development of the metaverse because they do not want to be left behind. For this reason, there are already a couple of metaverse apps in the market. According to a recent TrendForce report, the 5G market is expanding and will hit $14.5 billion in 2023. Also, projections reveal that the market size will expand to $37 billion by 2026 with a compound annual growth rate of 11.0%.
Source: Fortune
The report claims that the major reason for the strong growth is the metaverse apps. These apps are increasing the demand for 5G networks. According to the report, 5G apps work in different areas. They work mostly in tech but also in manufacturing, energy, medical care, smart cars, public transport and even consumer electronics.
The report also did a breakdown of the finances based on the $37 billion output in 2026. Using this value, industrial manufacturing will account for 32% of the overall app output value. Medical apps will account for 15% while smart cars, as well as public transport, will account for 25% of the total output. As for consumer electronics, it will account for 10% of the total output.
According to TrendForce, the Metaverse is an emerging app service. At the moment, most brands in the game are still in the early stages of their development. In addition, techs such as AR/VR and sensing operations still need time to develop. Also, the industry does not exactly know the needs of the metaverse app but the development is rapid. There are projections that in the next 2 to 3 years, the metaverse growth will be explosive. In fact, the metaverse is getting set to take over the world. The metaverse progress is focusing on community, multi player games, education, simulation training, construction, virtual meetings, etc.
Telecom brands are also seeing business opportunities in the metaverse. At the moment, major telecom brands around the world are subtly interested in the metaverse. The likes of Nokia, Ericsson and Huawei are currently investing in the metaverse. Since 5G has links with the metaverse, it is not a surprise that these brands are investing. Huawei, Ericsson and Nokia are the major players in the development of 5G network equipment. Thus, the metaverse will mean good business for these brands.
The Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology (SMCEIT) recently issued a "Notice on the Release of the 2022 Shanghai Metaverse Major Application Scenarios" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice"). The "Notice" points out that in order to implement the "Shanghai City's Action Plan for Cultivating the "Metaverse" New Track (2022-2025)", SMCEIT launched the city's Metaverse's major app scenario standard. This standard reveals the list of what major apps need to have.
SMCEIT stated that after public solicitation, expert review, and clarification of needs, it has formed an excellent selection center around business operations, classroom education, cultural tourism, branded entertainment, intelligent manufacturing, medical health, and digital cities. In 2022 Shanghai's first batch of the metaverse major app scenario requirements list hit the road. The list is now public to solicit solutions from key domestic and foreign brands, colleges and universities, and scientific research institutes. This is good to promote the connection between supply and demand.
From the attachment of the notice, the first batch of major app scenarios of Metaverse in Shanghai in 2022 includes seven categories of scenarios. They include medical health, digital city, classroom education, business operation, brand entertainment, cultural tourism and intelligent manufacturing.
India is one of the largest tech markets in the world. In terms of mobile phones, it is the second largest market, behind only China. Although this market is large, it is not a flagship market ie it is not a market where flagship product thrives. Thus, the adoption of 5G network in this region was quite slow. Nevertheless, within a few months of adopting 5G publicly in India, it is already doing very well. Omdia's latest report points out that the global economic recession will bring issues to the telecom market. However, the demand for telecom services will remain high and this will help to cushion the impact on the industry. Global mobile service revenue growth should slow down to 2.54% in 2023 from 3.78% in 2021.
Omdia said the next wave of 5G services will come from low income markets. Many of the coming 5G networks will be in low income markets in Africa, Central & South Asia, and Latin America. By the end of 2023, India should become the third largest 5G market in the world in terms of the number of users.
The report also claims that the telecom market will usher in a further wave of cooperation. Telecom brands will likely put their resources together to get a common useful result. With the modest revenue growth and high network spending, many in the industry believe mergers and purchase deals are a must if there will be any success.
At the same time, operators will tighten their business focus. Many brands will sharpen their business focus, which may lead them to divest non-core assets and businesses. Some brands may consider selling or bringing in relevant investors.