Identifying Customer-Related Barriers to Widespread 5G Adoption in Qatar Using Correlation Analysis

Abstract

5G provides much high data rates, lower latency, and better quality of service compared to its predecessor 4G. Nevertheless, the rate at which customers in Qatar are switching from their existing 4G data plans to the new 5G plans is not as fast as would have been anticipated. This study identifies the customer-related factors that are hindering the widespread adoption of 5G in Qatar. To this end, a questionnaire was conducted to collect data on customers’ mobile data usage and preferences based on a set of factors that could be correlated with customers’ willingness to switch to 5G. The data is analyzed using Spearman’s Rank Correlation and other statistical tests to identify the degree of correlation between the willingness to use 5G and the different independent factors. Hence, the most important hindrances slowing the switching from 4G to 5G in Qatar are identified and ranked. It is found that price represents the greatest obstacle slowing the transition from 4G to 5G. Therefore, several recommendations are proposed to overcome this challenge to increase 5G usage. Encouraging the transition to 5G networks in Qatar will reflect in boosting many uprising technologies such as smart homes, smart cars, smart cities, Internet of Things, and other emerging technologies.