MNO Survey: 5G is Still an Unknown; LTE Materializing

A new survey by Stéphane Téral, research director for mobile infrastructure and carrier economics, IHS in which "operators were interviewed about their LTE network deployment plans, challenges and service offerings" finds that many do not know what 5G networks are:

"The 5G debate has started with great fanfare, hype and confusion, but little substance about what it is exactly and what it is not. For now, the mindset is still locked into mobile broadband as we know it with LTE, so it’s good that the ITU has just stepped in to define 5G in its brand new IMT-2020"

"Half of respondents participating in the study say they have already deployed LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) in their LTE networks [see "GSA: 497M LTE Subscriptions Worldwide" - here and "GSA: 360 LTE Networks Launched; 96 in 2014" - here] .. We are slowly but surely moving to true 4G, and that’s good news. However, most users already believe they are on 4G, and that’s the bad news because the experience is far from consistent and is falling short of expectations. How many times does your smartphone display LTE or 4G and you still see the infamous spinning wheel?”

"Ericsson, Huawei and Nokia (in alphabetical order) are perceived by survey respondents as the top LTE equipment manufacturers". 

Source: 5G Concept, by IMT-2020 (5G) Promotion Group - here.

Source: 5G Concept, by IMT-2020 (5G) Promotion Group - here.

See "5G Hype Aside, True 4G Is Finally Materializing, Says IHS" - here.