Vodafone 5G Ultra is a Game-Changer for SMEs
There are an estimated 5.5m small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK. SMEs are vital to the economy and connectivity is an everyday tool for them, completing everything from researching the past history of new employees to sending invoices. SMEs need a fast and reliable network connection and 5G plays a big part in these day-to-day connections.
A new report on Vodafone has shed more light on the power of 5G in business.
In the digital world, connectivity is increasingly important for SMEs
Vodafone is a UK-based telecommunications company with its own operations in 21 countries and affiliations in 48 partner markets. The network aims to keep families, friends, businesses and governments connected and play a vital role in keeping economies running and critical sectors like education and healthcare functioning. Vodafone wants to connect people for a better future, applying its expertise and scale to drive positive change for society.
Vodafone’s latest research shows that 53% of UK adults believe 5G has the potential to improve their daily lives.
5G is currently undergoing a transformation – from the existing 5G service, which relies in part on 4G technology, to a 5G Standalone (5G SA) network. Now, it is available to UK SMEs.
The 5G Ultra service combines 5G SA with the existing 5G service which customers are already aware of, switching seamlessly between 4G, 5G or 5G Ultra, as and when available.
Now, 5G Ultra users are free to experience everything from longer battery life and stronger security features to reliability like never before and reduced latency, news which will be welcome to SMEs.
Vodafone 5G Ultra represents the most technologically advanced network in the UK, giving customers the most reliable connectivity experience available.
“Small and medium-sized businesses are what helps to keep the UK economy afloat and thriving. To support them, 5G Ultra brings greater capacity, lower latency, more advanced security and higher reliability,” says Nick Gliddon, Director Business Vodafone UK. “Together, that means these businesses can spend less time worrying about how they are going to complete day-to-day tasks while out and about, and more time focused on reaping the rewards of a better connected and more effective operation.”
5G delays could cost SMEs billions
Global productivity has slumped following the pandemic and also since the economic crisis back in 2008. Results from the Office for National Statistics show the latest annual productivity growth estimates remained flat for Q4 of 2023, in terms of output per hour. The UK saw a drop of 0.6% when it comes to output per worker across 2023, in comparison to the previous year.
In terms of GDP per hour, the UK (77) sits between France (87) and Italy (74) – fourth highest of the G7 countries, with the US and Germany both sitting comfortably at 91.
The UK risks falling behind European rivals if the 5G SA network rollout becomes too slow. For SMEs in particular, this could equate to £8.6bn (US$10bn) being lost each year in productivity savings.
“At Vodafone, we feel strongly that 5G SA will act as the bridge between today and this more connected future. One reason to believe this is the visible impact that its network slicing capabilities are already having,” Nick continues. “A new feature introduced with 5G SA, network slicing allows Vodafone to create multiple virtual network lanes, which operate across the same physical network.”
Now post-pandemic, UK SMEs have a new way forward to keep their business connected like never before.
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