A new study expects the 5G value chain to generate up to $3.5 trillion in revenue in 2035, and create nearly 22 million jobs.
The Qualcomm-commissioned 5G Economy study was jointly carried out by research firms IHS Markit, PSB and UC California economist Professor David Teece.
The study suggests that 5G will propel mobile into the exclusive realm of general purpose technologies, like electricity and the automobile, that provide the base for huge innovation. It will result in the creation of new industries and benefit entire economies.
Qualcomm said it will happen as 5G advances mobile from a set of technologies connecting people to people and information to a unified fabric linking people to everything.
The study says 5G will impact virtually every industry sector and could result in $12.3 trillion in global sales by 2035.
According to the study, 5G will boost real global GDP growth by $3 trillion cumulatively from 2020 to 2035.
David Teece said: “I’ve spent many years studying the impact of general purposes technologies, and it’s clear that 5G will propel mobile into that category, assuring the technology’s long-term impact on society and continued growth for decades.”
Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf said: “We have been hard at work helping create some of the key technologies and applications that will make 5G a reality, pushing the boundaries of LTE, collaborating with industry leaders, and spearheading the critical research behind the next-generation global wireless standard.”
PSB carried out polling research to complement the economic study and confirmed that business decision makers and opinion leaders anticipate 5G to bring widespread benefits for society and the economy overall.
More than 90% of over 3,500 respondents agreed that 5G will allow new products, services and use cases that have not been invented till now.
In its mobility report released in November 2016, Ericsson revealed that 5G will have half a billion users by 2022.
