‘4G investment by enterprise benefits all’

Analyst IDC has advised enterprise firms to invest in 4G, in order to create a ‘virtuous circle of benefits’.

John Delaney told attendees of Microsoft’ Business Transformed event that while for consumers 4G appears only to increase mobile network speeds, the redesigned infrastructure of the network should be a critical point for businesses to utilise.

“Yes 4G is faster than 3G, but it’s much bigger than that,” he explained.

“There’s faster data rates, lower latency and [most importantly] it’s an all-IP network – a pure data network for the first time in mobile – which is a key difference between 4G and 3G.

“For the first time, we have a mobile network which has been adopted globally as a standard by all the major mobile operators.

“That holds out a lot of promise in 4G for the enterprise IT sector.

“Simply put: 4G is something that behaves like a desktop connection. It’s fast, it’s instant and it’s responsive, which means that people start to use the network in a different way to 3G.

“The trouble is that, in Europe, 4G has largely been a consumer-first phenomenon.

“Business have yet to start picking up 4G, which is a pity, because when businesses start to adopt 4G they’ll make more money out of it, meaning they’ll be more inclined to invest in it, which means that the networks will start to get better, which means that prices will get cheaper, meaning that businesses get more value out of it – what you will essentially have is a virtuous circle of benefits of adoption and investment.”

British Prime Minister David Cameron pledged back in March that the UK would strike a deal with Germany in order to get 5G internet, which is said to be up to 1,000 times faster than 4G.

Image of enterprise 4G courtesy of Shutterstock.co.uk