Ericsson Connectivity Report: Why US Businesses Find 5G Necessary To Use AI
Sony Ericsson‘s new State of Enterprise Connectivity Report 2025 provides clarity based on a survey of 1,000 technology decision makers in the United States. In short, 5G is no longer a “nice to have.” It is a “must have.”
The report indicates that 88% of businesses see 5G as “critical” for maximizing the value of AI into their business operations. AI is driving innovation in a variety of applications from automated customer service to cybersecurity; businesses must depend on the speed, scale and security of 5G. In fact, 90% of respondents reported that AI has improved workplace security by automatically detecting problems on the network, and 89% reported that AI helps teams take some of the manual work out of network management.
Interestingly, this is not purely a one-way relationship as AI is creating a better 5G experience—creating a circular feed of support for each technology. Network management is just one aspect, as AI is improving wireless wide area networks (WWAN) private 5G cellular networks as well, helping ensure 5G is that much smarter for customers.
We would be remiss not to mention the report mentions another tech trend that will impact consumers. That trend would be the increasing reliance on the Internet of Things (IoT).
More than half (55%) of surveyed companies are already utilizing IoT devices in their practice – and numerous others have plans to invest in new devices in the near future, following a wide variety of innovative technologies including smart security systems and real-time video surveillance. These devices need consistent connectivity with high-speed rates, as well as good reliability and low latency – and no one technology enables this like 5G mobility.
But while 5G is exciting for the future, many businesses are still facing barriers to wide adoption. The biggest barriers? High cost and complicated hardware upgrades. More than half of businesses who were surveyed for the report stated that cost barriers and upgrade issues trimmed their enthusiasm for IoT. Even worse, 95% of surveyed companies admitted that poor connectivity was driving high operational costs and wasted time, resulting in operational inefficiencies.
According to reports, Camille Campbell from Ericsson commented that businesses today are focused on a variety of unique challenges such as constantly changing economic realities, issues with cybersecurity and heightened customer expectations. In that environment, 5G is looking more and more like a foundational element of success. 5G provides significant bandwidth to scale, even with other technologies using AI and IoT, and if nothing else allows business people to upgrade their technology from just a network upgrade, to a business enabler!
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