In almost every industry, 5G is expected to become the backbone of digital transformation. From the Internet of Things (IoT) to artificial intelligence, technologies adopted by organisations to revolutionise their operations need to be supported by a steady 5G network. This is where global telecommunications giant Verizon comes in.
“Private 5G has been belatedly garnering significant attention from businesses in Singapore...the technology is crucial to the development of our smart cities, particularly in Singapore where Industry 4.0, especially for logistics, ports and healthcare, will be the main driver for private 5G. While we recognise the benefits of the technology, there are still ways for businesses to understand practical use cases to start testing their environments,” says Robert LeBusque, regional vice-president for Asia Pacific (Apac) at Verizon Business Group, in an interview with DigitalEdge in London.
Massimo Peselli, chief revenue officer, global enterprise and public sector for Verizon Business, adds: “We have also seen a great interest [in private 5G] in Australia and Japan. Many were interested in understanding how [other] companies use this technology to innovate and differentiate their markets. This is more than just curiosity. There is probably a compelling need to use these technologies and not to stay behind.”
While several innovations are being introduced into the market, LeBusque acknowledges there is a gap in the industry that must be addressed. “Companies need to first understand — through continued education — how a private network can transform their business. In addition, regulators also need to ensure the adequate supply of private 5G spectrum with minimal restrictions,” he explains. He also emphasises the need for public-private collaboration to allow these solutions to launch quicker in the market.
To educate organisations on the possibilities of 5G, Verizon recently launched its 5G Lab in London to support its international and media customers. Based at Verizon’s Mid City Place office in central London, the lab offers a live Verizon 5G-enabled environment where organisations can develop and test 5G applications and experiences.
Verizon’s 5G Lab is designed to offer technology innovators a space to grow the 5G ecosystem. Start-ups, academics, companies and organisations work with Verizon in the lab to explore the boundaries of 5G network technology, co-create new applications and hardware, and rethink what is possible in a 5G world. The potential use cases include exploring how autonomous vehicles, smart communities, virtual healthcare, smart manufacturing, the industrial IoT, immersive education, augmented and virtual reality and responsive gaming can be enhanced with 5G’s fast speeds, massive bandwidth and low latency.
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Several use cases are being tested in the 5G Lab and implemented in various industries in London. LeBusque says that several of those applications can be replicated in Southeast Asia.
Designing better experiences for retail
Technology is changing the retail landscape, from the operation back-end to the consumer experience front. In London, Verizon’s 5G network, along with solutions from Proto Hologram, has given mannequins a complete makeover. This was the case for its luxury fashion client Burberry, which hosted a fashion show featuring holograms of models wearing the brand’s latest seasonal collection.
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In this scenario, a camera records a short 3D video of the model. The video is immediately sent to Proto’s “Epic box”, which projects the 3D video onto a realistic hologram. This is currently available in Burberry’s store in London.
London was the first use case of this solution, which was then quickly brought to the US for retailer H&M in its Williamsburg store as part of its Move concept store featuring its athletic brand and offering exercise classes. The Proto Epic box was built into the window display, presenting life-sized 4K holograms of models and dance and fitness instructors wearing H&M Move.
“Such solutions are designed to create a better and easier customer experience. In the case of Burberry, the fashion show was conducted in real-time, so guests can see some of the products and have a better sense of how they look on a person,” explains Peselli.
James Hughes, CTO of retail technology in EMEA for Verizon, adds that this tech is not limited to the retail industry. There are several ways it can be applied to other industries. For instance, Hughes demonstrated that this technology could project a person’s likeness anywhere during a video call. This would make for a more interactive presentation compared to just speaking through a screen. Essentially, Hughes points out that such a solution improves interaction with an audience or customers.
On bringing such a solution to the shores of Asia, LeBusque shares that Asian consumers can be rather discerning and demanding. During the pre-Covid days, consumers shopping for luxury goods were used to and demanded an exclusive physical experience. But Covid-19 has changed the face of retail, making consumers more open to digitalisation.
“Shoppers are now looking for a more immersive experience when they go to a shop. They want to interact digitally and in-person,” says LeBusque, who adds that Verizon is currently working with several luxury retailers in the Apac region to create a curated experience. While many solutions presented in Apac are still in the proof-of-concept phase, it is a similar tech where individual interaction attaches value to the solution to create a better personal experience.
Transforming manufacturing with 5G
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The luxury retail sector is just one example of how 5G can transform the business landscape. The manufacturing sector is another industry that has openly embraced 5G and complementing technologies like the IoT.
The manufacturing sector has struggled with several issues, such as a lack of skilled personnel and digitalisation and automation challenges. 5G can come in to alleviate these problems. A European copper producer, for example, was able to drive efficiencies at its industrial campus with Verizon’s private 5G network.
In the US, Verizon is closely working with Deloitte and other Smart Factory ecosystem companies to advance the execution of smart manufacturing, enabling manufacturers to adopt Industry 4.0 solutions that will help drive new business models to boost quality, productivity and sustainability.
As a builder-level collaborator in The Smart Factory @ Wichita ecosystem of 20 world-leading organisations, Verizon intends to leverage this network of companies to help customers across industries innovate their approach to improved connectivity and use of data to improve real-time coordination between people and assets.
While most 5G use cases are currently centred outside of Asia, LeBusque expects such solutions to reach the manufacturing sector in Asia in the near term.
