Telia Finland eyes 5G enterprise goldrush

INTERVIEW: Operator Telia Finland enthused about the strong appetite for 5G from businesses, pointing to a recent contract to deliver a network in a gold mine, while noting gaming experiences would help drive the consumer segment.

In an interview with Mobile World Live discussing the operator’s strategy in promoting 5G, online, marketing and analytics director Kati Riikonen set out an expectation for it to be the “everyday technology” for consumers by 2025.

However, she noted it was the enterprise sector which have been fastest movers to date.

“It’s always interesting in the new Gs whether it’s consumers or businesses who take-up first and we’ve noticed with 5G it’s B2B customers who’ve tended to be really quick implementers,” Riikonen said, highlighting a recent contract to build an underground network in Lapland’s Kittila goldmine.

“For consumers, in all the Gs, mobile gaming has always taken a huge leap forward,” Riikonen added. “We expect there will be new types of mobile gaming and real time experiences that can be implemented.”