DENVER — The opportunity to reach industries and deliver use cases that aren’t currently served by mobile networks has rejuvenated a sense of imagination throughout the industry, and it was on full display today during keynotes and panel discussions at the Big 5G Event.

The ways of yesteryear are on the precipice of dramatic change. Network operators and infrastructure vendors are reimagining their role in a 5G-powered future and are hopeful that new pathways and models will emerge from which they can gain more revenue.

If rate plans, as they stand today, aren’t going to cut it, where are 5G revenues going to come from? It depends on who you ask, but the prevailing opinion among telecom executives is that things are about to get much more complicated and inspired by the unmet needs or aspirations of enterprises.

“There’s this entire class of service and problem-solving capabilities that the 5G fabric can help us solve in different ways,” said Craig Sparks, chief innovation officer at C Spire. The enterprise presents operators with an opportunity to derive revenue from a new era of services built on edge computing, network sharing, service orchestration and industrial IoT applications, he added.

5G's core architecture enables services that will position network operators in new industries, but there will also be many third parties that are going to make money in that space, Sparks said.

“Monetization will be multi-faceted,” said Igor Glubochansky, assistant vice president of mobility product management at AT&T. The foundational components of 5G networks are also putting operators in competition with software providers for the first time in many respects, he explained.

Retailers will be able to deliver new ways to shop and machines in massive factories could be better controlled and operated with edge computing and 5G, he said. “There will be some completely new experiences powered by 5G… and there will be in the enterprise space the ability to actually control the machines.”

It’s hard to imagine an industry that won’t be touched by 5G, said Nicola Palmer, chief network engineering officer and head of wireless networks at Verizon. The real-time enterprise will be powered by 5G — and edge computing and virtualization will be “absolutely critical” in that effort, she said. “Combine [virtualization] with the ability to slice the network… and now you’re really on to something.”

Verizon will start delivering services on its edge computing platform by the end of this year, Palmer said. It’s important to keep customers in mind and focus on areas where operators can provide value, she explained. “What will these networks do that customers love? It’s just finding these points and I don’t think it’s going to be a one-size-fits all.”

When you consider the amount consumers already pay for internet at home and on the go, there’s a real risk of reaching a ceiling on pricing, so 5G revenues will have to be gained from other verticals such as manufacturing, retail, IoT, healthcare and other examples that have yet-to-be discovered, Palmer said. “There’s a lot of legs there.”