to go beyond today’s online lecture formats, CSPs can help improve the quality of online education. In addition, introducing augmented reality into educational systems helps schools and universities reduce costs as training materials and equipment can be easily shared with other educational institutions.

Figure 2: Virtual classrooms

Enterprise augmented reality

Augmented reality has long been identified as a significant enhancement to a number of enterprise workloads. As 5G networks continue to be deployed, AR will have the added bandwidth and lower latency to move from mission-critical applications and become more prevalent in addressing other business functions. Forrester Research identified three use cases for the enterprise use of AR: assistance, training, and compliance. See Figure 3, below.

Figure 3: Enterprise augmented reality

From an assistance and training point of view, AR allows technical teams to visually guide field technicians and collaborate with customers to resolve issues, maximizing key knowledge-holders’ time and reducing onsite support costs. Field technicians can extend their training into real-world situations while instructor oversight ensures the work is being performed correctly. AR can also facilitate increased compliance verification through real-time schematic or digital model displays delivered via heads-up visual displays or handheld devices such as phones or tablets.

The opportunity is now

While how we will do business continues to evolve thanks to the current world circumstances, the fundamentals still apply: anticipate customers’ needs, leverage the best technology and resources, and deliver exceptional, innovative services that not only meet their needs but also help them expand their profitability.

Immersive media can revolutionize the customer experience and enhance how we work and study, now and in the future. The seismic shift has already begun. By identifying the correct platforms to develop these and other innovative use cases, operators and the entire ecosystem have an unprecedented opportunity to deliver new services that will give them access to new users and create new revenue streams while shaping the customer experience models that will define how we work and live for years to come.