5G for the Future of Telecommunications: How Innovation Platforms Redefine the Mobile Network Operators' Role

The paper addresses the transition process that Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) can undertake after the advent of 5G technology and the unique opportunities it introduces. It focuses on how seeing 5G as an innovation platform can support the strategic repositioning of these actors, enabling them to regain influence in the market, especially in the enterprise market. Therefore, an exploratory study of 8 cases was conducted, including different players of the 5G Italian telecommunication industry. Results show that industrial 5G has many common points with innovation platforms, being a promising technology that enables additional services and applications on top of it. The associations between 5G and innovation platforms offers a new perspective on the challenges and the ongoing dynamics for MNOs, highlighting the platform consolidation complexity and outlining potential future scenarios. The MNO is identified as a potential candidate to orchestrate the ecosystem, although this remains a prospective view. Finally, a framework is presented to picture the 5G landscape, offering strategic insights to maximize MNOs’ competitive advantage.