TM Forum — How to manage Digital Transformation, Agile Business Operations & Connected Digital Ecosystems
    • Login Log-in arrow-right
    • register Register arrow-right
  • Industry Missions Industry Missions
    • Join the industry movement Join the industry movementTogether we're changing the future of global connectivity
    • Autonomous Networks Autonomous NetworksUnlocking the power of seamless end-to-end autonomous operations​
    • Composable IT and Ecosystems Composable IT and EcosystemsSimpler IT operations and partnering via AI-ready composable software
    • AI and Data Innovation AI and Data InnovationThe safe adoption of AI and data at scale
  • Open Digital Architecture (ODA) Open Digital Architecture (ODA)
    • About ODA About ODAThe architecture, blueprints and best practice our Members are building to simplify, modernize and automate their operations
    • How to apply ODA How to apply ODAUnderstand how ODA can work for you
    • Conformance ConformanceCertify your business and products with industry standards
    • Member assets Member assetsA library of standards, best practices and toolkits
    • Open APIs Open APIsFind specifications, downloadable code and more
    • ODA component directory ODA component directoryFind ODA components and the vendors who supply them
    • Canvas CanvasThe live environment for ODA components
  • Member projects Member projects
    • Collaboration projects Collaboration projectsExplore our Member-only projects where we build and develop ODA
    • Catalysts CatalystsTeam up with industry trailblazers to create ground-breaking solutions
    • Innovation Hub Innovation HubFocused innovation to address real-world challenges
  • Learn Learn
    • Education programs Education programsUpskilling programs that transform your capabilities
    • Certification CertificationTM Forum Knowledge Certification and Skills Paths
  • News and insight News and insight
    • Newsroom NewsroomLatest press releases and global media coverage
    • Industry insight Industry insightExplore reports, case studies, key features and opinion pieces
  • Events Events
    • All events All eventsMeet up and join in! Where the industry convenes to shape the future of connectivity
    • Innovate Americas Innovate AmericasOur annual summit for the Americas' connectivity ecosystem: September 10-11, 2025
    • DTW Ignite DTW IgniteTM Forum's annual global summit for the connectivity industry: 17-19 June, 2025
    • Innovate Asia Innovate AsiaOur annual summit for Asia's connectivity ecosystem: November 25-27, 2025
  • About About
    • About TM Forum About TM ForumThe connectivity industry’s global alliance
    • Sponsorship and Exhibitors Sponsorship and ExhibitorsOpportunities to promote your organization's brand and capabilities
    • Membership MembershipAccess a world of insights, collaboration and tools to transform your business
    • Careers CareersBe part of the global industry alliance that's changing the future of global connectivity
  • Login Log-in arrow-right
  • register Register arrow-right
Back to top

5G

Image: 5G

Topics

  • Business Architecture
  • Business Assurance
  • Digital Transformation & Maturity
  • Face of Digital Leadership
  • IoE & Digital Ecosystems

Capitalizing on the 5G promise

The technical capabilities of 5G are being widely discussed, but it is much more than a speed evolution of previous generations. As well as enhancing existing services, 5G has the potential to open up huge new opportunities such as those presented by the Internet of Everything, smart devices, cars and even cities.

What is 5G?

The details specifications are still evolving but some of the key goals are already clear.

  • Lightning speed: Companies leading the charge have said that 5G speeds could be up to 100 times faster than 4G LTE speeds, enabling services to make use of ultra-high definition video and other bandwidth hungry applications.
  • Ultra-reliability and Low latency: With 5G, latency can be reduced by more than a factor of 10. This, coupled with enhanced levels of security and reliability, opens up a world of new opportunities in areas such as connected cars, digital health and more, which are simply not viable today.
  • Massive Machine Type Comms (mMTC) Existing systems were designed for one device per subscriber and relatively large data volumes, they cannot support billions of devices nor their different demands, such as passing tiny amounts of data efficiently. 5G’s ability to do this will unlock massive opportunities in the Internet of Everything.
  • Network slicing: Different applications have different requirements on the network, they need different combinations of the characteristics detailed above and can bear different price points. 5G will allow operators to deliver what is required through ‘slicing’.

5G presents an opportunity to utilize these innovations to both evolve existing business models and open new ones. Communications service providers are well placed to take a significant slice of this opportunity, playing a variety of ecosystem roles.

Capitalizing on the 5G opportunity

5G promises to be a true revolution rather than an evolution. In order to capitalize, operators must make sure their business is prepared. In many cases this not only requires deploying the new technology but also executing on significant business transformation.

Much of the focus on 5G today has been on how we technologically innovate – on things like spectrum and regulation and the underlying technology, but focusing on this aspect alone and ignoring the wider business implications will mean that enterprises may miss many of the true growth opportunities that 5G represents.

For example, being able to cost effectively work with a myriad of ecosystem partners by automating operations, supported with new highly automated OSS/BSS solutions. Businesses will also have to think about how they change their approach and the position of the customer, using concepts like design thinking to put the customer at the center of the process and then use deep analytics to understand that customer lifecycle, continuously engage them and provide services they want dynamically at the time they want.

All of that leads to a business that is continuously evolving; one that embraces open innovation and agility and increases the ability of the whole business to respond at the speed of the market. Creating a truly adaptive digital businesses and seizes the opportunities of 5G and other technologies as they arise.

5G: Are you ready?

Enabling this holistic transformation is TM Forum’s focus through our work in areas such as Open APIs, a new Digital Platform Reference Architecture, ZOOM and much more.

Get involved in a number of 5G initiatives 

5G
News

Collection of articles, research reports, videos and more

Go to News

5G
More Information

For latest workstream information, upcoming projects and more

Contact Us

Topics

  • Business Architecture
  • Business Assurance
  • Digital Transformation & Maturity
  • Face of Digital Leadership
  • IoE & Digital Ecosystems

Featured Resources & Events

DOWNLOAD

Report

5G monetization: Operational imperatives - understand how dependent 5G success is on OSS/BSS transformation and learn how to build business cases for OSS/BSS products that will enable 5G service differentiation.

CATALYSTS

Catalyst projects

Explore Catalyst projects working on 5G use cases and proof of concepts.

DOWNLOAD

Report

This initial report begins to describe the ways 5G ecosystems will be monetized.

5G NewsSee All »

Designing telecom sites faster, cleaner and smarter
Proof Of Concept
5G GenAI
Designing telecom sites faster, cleaner and smarter
Jul 25
Alasdair Riggs
Unified 5G and NTN with SD-WAN brings on-demand intelligent connectivity for disaster response and commercial services
Proof Of Concept
5G Connectivity
Unified 5G and NTN with SD-WAN brings on-demand intelligent connectivity for disaster response and commercial services
Jul 25
Ryan Andrew
Proactive, predictive, and autonomous: genAI anomaly detection for RAN
Proof Of Concept
5G Artificial Intelligence (AI) + 3 More
Proactive, predictive, and autonomous: genAI anomaly detection for RAN
Jun 25
Alasdair Riggs
How to reduce RAN energy usage by a quarter with predictive AI
Proof Of Concept
RAN (Radio Access Networks) Artificial Intelligence (AI) + 1 More
How to reduce RAN energy usage by a quarter with predictive AI
Jun 25
Ryan Andrew
George Glass

Contact to discuss or learn more

George Glass
[email protected]

Online Training

Courses now available at the click of a button. Easily access the knowledge and…

See online courses

Conferences

Accelerate Asia 2025

Learn more
what’s happening now
TM Forum — How to manage Digital Transformation, Agile Business Operations & Connected Digital Ecosystems

Explore TMForum

  • Careers
  • Membership
  • Legal

Contact us

  • General Inquiries: [email protected]
  • Member Services: [email protected]
  • Interested in Joining? [email protected]
  • Press Inquiries: [email protected]

©2025 TM Forum