UK businesses are ready to buy 5G Standalone: Vodafone

Research from Vodafone shows 39% of UK companies are ready to invest in 5G Standalone, with 14% making the move within 12 months, demonstrating the immediate appetite for next generation digital services.

Research from Vodafone shows 39% of UK companies are ready to invest in 5G Standalone today, with 14% making the move within 12 months, demonstrating the immediate appetite for next generation digital services.

89% of businesses are looking to technology to improve the operational efficiency of their business in an increasingly competitive digital environment.

Vodafone has made its 5G Ultra service available to business customers in some areas. It adds lower latency, extra reliability, and enhanced capacity on top of the 5G services available today.

The company has committed to further enhancing 5G Ultra services by investing £11 billion if its merger with Three UK is completed.

Customer research by Vodafone shows there is an immediate appetite from UK businesses to invest in both smartphone and advanced 5G services (such as network slicing), with 93% highlighting reliable data connections as critical to success. Vodafone has extended its existing 5G Ultra service to Enterprise and Small- to Medium-sized business customers. This offers organisations access to 5G Standalone, the most technologically advanced network in the UK.

Existing 5G services rely partly on 4G which is why it’s called 5G non-standalone. The 5G Standalone network, however, is a fully updated and future-proofed network which delivers many new benefits not previously available on 4G or 5G non-standalone.

This will be referred to as 5G Ultra and will deliver 5G Standalone connectivity for existing 5G customers, giving an even more enhanced and reliable experience.

Nick Gliddon, Business Director, Vodafone UK, said: “Our customers are telling us they are ready for 5G Standalone. Whether it is to keep employees connected with more reliable services, or to customise their business through next-generation services such as network slicing. 5G Standalone is the doorway to innovation, new revenues, and better connection with employees.

“We launched the UK’s first 5G Standalone network in 2023. But to bring the benefits to everyone, we need consolidation – we cannot avoid a digital divide without it. Our proposed merger with Three UK is good for customers, good for competition and good for country. It will deliver much needed scale, better enabling us to deliver the benefits of 5G Ultra to all customers, regardless of where they live.”

The appetite to upgrade

Vodafone’s research, conducted with businesses across the UK, demonstrated there is an immediate appetite to invest in the advanced capabilities of 5G.

86% of customers suggested the rollout of 5G Standalone is either important or extremely important, with 44% stating lower latency would help business growth, while 83% would slightly or significantly increase 5G investments once advanced capabilities are available. 46% believe 5G Standalone would offer them a competitive advantage within three years by better enabling innovation.

5G Ultra can also help companies excel in the hybrid-working era. 71% stated remote working is critically important to their business. However, 32% are still struggling with the connectivity requirements of a hybrid and remote working environment. In fact, 26% stated challenges with team collaboration and communication are having a negative impact on their business, and 43% pointed to poor quality video or voice calls.

5G Ultra can also help an organisation improve training and remote support through the integration of virtual and augmented reality technologies. Staff skills and development (45%) and keeping staff happy and motivated (39%) were two of the most common on-going business challenges.

The UK is home to over 5.6 million private sector businesses, with almost 45,000 either medium- or large-sized, demonstrating a significant customer base waiting for the chance to innovate through 5G Standalone.

5G Ultra for business

5G Ultra offers customers access to the UK’s most advanced communications network, giving them the edge in a hyper-competitive marketplace. With increased reliability, capacity, and speeds, as well as lower latency, 5G Ultra is the best tool for the job.

Customers with eligible 5G Ultra devices can expect:

Up to 25% longer battery life – help prevent the challenge of running out of battery, with up to 3 hours of improved battery performance.
Fast 5G speeds – experience amazingly fast 5G speeds, around 10 times faster than 4G.

Connect in busy places – make a call or use your mobile data even where it’s busy, such as on station platforms, in stadiums and at festivals.

By launching 5G Ultra for business customers, Vodafone is supporting economic growth. The proposed merger with Three UK would enable the merged company to accelerate the expansion of this network, helping more companies, faster. The merged company plans to invest £11 billion in the network over the next decade, bringing 5G Standalone to more than 99% of the UK’s populated areas by 2034.

A platform for innovation

5G Standalone is also more than mobile.

It has the potential to improve society and business across the UK, becoming a catalyst for new digital experiences that would not otherwise be possible.

Vodafone has also been working with partners to understand how network slicing, a new capability introduced with 5G Standalone, can better enable UK businesses. Network slicing would allow Vodafone to create tailored connectivity services to customers, designed to fit the individual requirement of their business or use cases.

The research demonstrated that 38% of businesses believe a network that can be customised to fit the specific needs of the business would help growth, while 24% said a lack of services tailored to their organisation’s needs is negatively impacting their business today.

Vodafone has already partnered with several companies to prove the benefits of network slicing including:

ITN: By isolating a small part of the network for broadcasters during the Coronation of Charles III, ITN was able to broadcast live over the 5G Standalone network without being impacted by the crowds.
UK Power Networks: Project Constellation is a demonstration of how network slicing can improve the efficiency of critical national infrastructure. It helps better balance supply and demand on the electricity grid.

EBC: At Glastonbury Festival 2024, Vodafone provided a slice for payment terminals to protect transactions from being delayed and support real-time authentication, reducing queue times for festivals goers.

Gaming: Vodafone’s optimised cloud gaming slice reduced buffering and jitter, which also improved graphics rendering. Network slicing also paves the way for even more immersive gaming experiences, such as virtual reality.