Ribbon Research on Cloud Gaming Reveals Revenue-Generating Opportunities for 5G Networks

"5G-Native networks leverage advanced technologies including network slicing to offer deterministic performance, high speed, and strict service guarantees. These capabilities will help usher in new business and use cases for carriers to capitalize on," said Patrick Joggerst, Chief Marketing Officer and EVP, Business Development, Ribbon. "The findings of this study, which will be reviewed at our upcoming 5G Perspectives event, prove that cloud gaming, combined with 5G, is a gainful area for carriers to address."

The independent study surveyed more than 5,000 gamers who reported playing at least 3 hours per day prior to the Covid-19 pandemic in 5 countries. The results show that these gamers are aware of the arrival of 5G, recognize its capabilities, and are willing to pay more for the upgraded experience it promises to deliver.

Key findings include:

"Cloud gaming presents an important and lucrative opportunity for carriers who embrace 5G and deliver the improved service experience gamers crave," said Lynnette Luna, Principal Analyst, GlobalData. "The rapid shift to mobile and cloud-based game delivery, combined with the higher data speeds and reduced latency 5G offers,  create a better user experience for gamers and a revenue-rich eco-system that carriers shouldn't ignore."

In addition to the $150 billion 5G connectivity opportunity, carriers may derive additional revenue by forming partnerships with gaming content providers to sell subscriptions to cloud services and bundled packages. 

"The research clearly shows that these avid  gamers present a highly addressable audience for carriers. They are aware of the internet speeds they receive, understand the detrimental impact of latency on their gaming experience, and are prepared to spend what it takes to negate these issues," Mr. Joggerst added. "Carriers that invest in and build standalone 5G networks will be the first to offer advanced connectivity and will find themselves well-position to form new partnerships with gaming content providers and dominate the 5G cloud gaming sector accordingly." 

Survey Methodology:

The survey was conducted among 5019 gamers from the US (1013) UK (1003) Japan (1001) South Korea (1000) and Germany (1002) who played for at least three hours per day prior to the COVID pandemic outbreak (the impact of the pandemic was also captured). It was designed to better understand the habits and pain points of ardent gamers aiming to create the optimal gaming experience both indoors and out.

Interviews were conducted online by Sapio Research in April & May 2020 using an email invitation and an online survey. At an overall level results are accurate to ± 1.4% at 95% confidence limits assuming a result of 50%.

Attendees of Ribbon's virtual 5G Perspectives event will receive a white paper detailing the survey findings.

About Ribbon
Ribbon Communications (Nasdaq: RBBN), which recently merged with ECI Telecom Group, delivers global communications software and network solutions to service providers, enterprises and critical infrastructure sectors. We engage deeply with our customers, helping them modernize their networks for improved competitive positioning and business outcomes in today's smart, always-on and data-hungry world. Our innovative, end-to-end solutions portfolio delivers unparalleled scale, performance, and agility, including core to edge IP solutions, UCaaS/ CPaaS cloud offers, leading-edge software security and analytics tools, as well as packet and optical networking leveraging ECI's Elastic Network technology. To learn more about Ribbon visit rbbn.com.  For more information about our Elastic Network technology packet-optical portfolio visit ecitele.com.

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