LIVE FROM CONNECTED BRITAIN, LONDON: BT Consumer CEO Marc Allera (pictured) conceded the mobile industry had not done the best job of launching the first wave of 5G, with initial user expectations not met, as he outlined the tricky marketing challenge of promoting the standalone (SA) variant.  

The company’s mobile division EE switched on its SA 5G network last week in selected locations, alongside launching associated premium tariffs.

In a keynote, Allera said although 5G expectations were “not met in the early days” SA would “start bringing the true promise of 5G to consumers and businesses” highlighting its qualities as a “network and technology not built on 4G legacy”.

“The really tricky bit…today is talking to consumers in a way that doesn’t say SA is a tariff, pay £5 more. It’s bringing experiences and products and services a user needs to life”.

He added although a challenge, “I think we have a great formula to do just that”.   

As at the operator’s launch event, the executive promoted the infrastructure as being able to deliver AI use cases and other advanced services.  

“It’s really clear to us we need to build networks that can adapt to services that consumers and businesses are using. They’ll need low latency, more compute power [and] power to the edge, whether that be for AI, cloud gaming or immersive content”.

In terms of the UK market, Allera noted it was important to focus on differentiation through network speed and services using the latest generation of connectivity technology, rather than battling on price alone.

“The very opposite thing this industry needs to do is make the market based only on price,” he said, claiming the percentage of a household income currently spent on communication services was “tiny”.

“There is a significant opportunity to demonstrate value in better ways and have a narrative that isn’t just based on price. Technologies like Wi-Fi 7 and SA 5G are great examples of how we can start to differentiate using network speed and services”.