Energy companies have been grappling with difficult economic conditions in the past few years. The pandemic disrupted business processes. Since it ebbed, inflation has been a bugaboo. The rise of mobile workforce applications, supported by 5G networks, is expected to spur worldwide economic growth, according to ABI Research.
The pandemic was a once in a century event that caused utilities to retool their operations. In an instant, they were forced to replace tried-and-true business processes with new remote operations. A raft of problems ensued: supply chains were disrupted, buying patterns changed, sales slowed, and utilities were forced to make significant investments in remote work technology.
Government tried to help by pumping trillions of dollars into the economy. However, once the pandemic ebbed, inflation became a pressing issue. In response, the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates a dozen times, slowing economic growth. So what will happen next?
5G’s Significant Financial Impact
Help is coming from 5G wireless networks, the next generation cellular network. Unlike its predecessors, this network was built for edge computing. Here, processing is done close to the end point rather than being sent to the data center. This change lowers network traffic and supports modern application design initiatives, like automation and digitization.
Energy companies recognize 5G’s potential benefits. Deployments will increase dramatically and contribute $508 billion to the global economy by 2030, according to ABI Research.
Remote Support Teams Drive 5G Adoption
Industrial connected workers are the main use case in the transition, according to ABI Research. For instance, energy companies have remote crews who work on complex equipment, like transformers. 5G networks enable them to enter information more easily at the remote work site. For example, new applications, like Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, have the potential to walk them through the maintenance process.
However, energy companies face a few challenges taking advantage of the new capabilities. They do not have experience in this area, so they need help from outsiders, third party specialists.
Also, staff often resists change because it can be intimidating. As a result, energy company executives need to focus on personnel as well as technical issues as they adopt 5G technology.
Energy companies have been struggling financially. 5G technology not only makes remote maintenance work easier but also is expected to spur economic growth, which should help utilities grapple with their post pandemic business challenges.