The reasons included cost effectiveness, sustainability credentials and time efficiency were the most popular reasons neutral hosts appealed to respondents.
The 200 decision makers, who came from operators and the public and private sector in the US, UK and Ireland, were surveyed by Sapio Research, as commissioned by Boldyn. The size of the companies they worked for ranged from 100-5000 people and 38% were owners, founders or directors.
Using the findings, Boldyn have released a report titled ‘Neutral hosts: the answer to 5G densification in delivering an interconnected future’.
The report highlighted business confidence in 5G, the importance of 5G in organisational performance and the challenges in achieving ubiquitous 5G connectivity.
Boldyn found that confidence in 5G is growing. In fact, 71% of decision-makers said they felt more confident than ever before.
In addition to the growing confidence in 5G, 86% of US respondents and 64% of UK & Ireland respondents said 5G availability had a direct impact on performance within their organisation.
However 96% of decision makers said they have faced challenges deploying 5G infrastructure and eight in 10 expect to exceed their planned spend.
Focusing on key challenges of 5G rollout and the need for network densification, the research found the top three challenges include capex requirements (29%), achieving ubiquitous connectivity (27%) and laying new fibre (24%).
“Our industry has made great progress in rolling out 5G networks globally and confidence in its performance by business customers has rocketed. But to create the truly interconnected communities of the future, it is essential that we close the gaps in 5G connectivity –indoors, outdoors, in urban, suburban, and rural environments. That’s what network densification is all about,” said Justin Berger, Group Chief Strategy Officer at Boldyn Networks.
“Both operators and public and private organisations face serious challenges in achieving ubiquitous connectivity. So how do these decision makers go about this? Our report reveals that neutral hosts will play a crucial role in network densification strategies.”
