As Spot, an agile mobile robot pranced around during the Verizon Innovation Session in Boston, attendees quickly saw first-hand how 5G is revolutionizing digital automation and transformation.
“What we are here to do is showcase to [attendees] the realities and possibilities with a bunch of our partners,” said Aparna Khurjekar, senior vice president of customer experience and transformation at Verizon.
The Basking Ridge, N.J.-based carrier had a variety of technologies to try out and first-responder vehicles with 5G technology lined up outside, allowing attendees to experience how valuable this technology is for the community and businesses.
“And you know what the good news is? This is not just about those large-size, mega cap companies. We believe 5G is actually going to democratize access to those small and midsize businesses that are really the backbone of the U.S. economy,” Khurjekar said.
During a panel discussion, Mark Tina, vice president of business sales at Verizon, used a local dry cleaner in Boston as an example of how 5G is reshaping business operations, customer service and meeting customer expectations.ADVERTISEMENT
“They use our broadband fixed-wireless access service as primary connectivity as well as backup on their locations to keep them up and running. They’ve created self-serve kiosks to allow their customers to interact in an innovative way, do more business with them and keep coming back. And they also do their point-of-sale transactions right on that network because it’s reliable and it’s secure,” Tina said.
During the same panel discussion, Samia Mahjub, vice presient of business strategy for the Boston Bruins, highlighted the way digital ticketing and contactless concession transactions have changed the entertainment industry.
“A lot of rapid change in the industry of entertainment, sports world, that people were either ready for or not. But I think now that it’s happening so quickly people are hungry for more,” Mahjub said.
Michael Israel, CIO of The Kraft Group, which owns and operates the New England Patriots’ Gillette Stadium, also explained how he leverages 5G technology to enhance the customer experience at the games and reapplies the technology to other areas of the company.
“We go to a partner like Verizon and say, ‘This is our problem.’ You came to us and said, ‘We just did this in Miami, and we did this for the F1 races and showed us the technology and we said, ‘Great.’ We’re not going to be an early adopter. It’s already been done here, here and here. We’ll work through what our investment is going to be and once we deploy it, we optimize it,” said Israel.
As Verizon continues to develop 5G technology, the company said private networks are the future because they offer businesses fast, reliable, secure speed with low latency at an economically friendly cost.
“Think about automation, think about very mission-critical solutions, robotics on the factory floors. Or workplaces where you want your own connectivity. … So, you have much faster and a higher capacity right in your footprint,” Khurjekar said.LEARN MORE: Internet of Things | Telecom
Rachael Espaillat is a multimedia journalist who joined CRNtv in December 2021. She interviews CEOs and other IT experts to deliver stories that matter most to channel partners. She can be reached at [email protected].
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