5G Market Insights: An Interview with Orange
Karine Dussert-Sarthe is Executive Vice President of Orange, leading global marketing, design and open innovation teams at Orange Innovation. She was appointed in 2019 to the role, having previously served as an executive for various companies including Telstra SFR, Match Group, and Orange France.
Karine has a passion for what technology and digital can do for citizens and consumers in general. She is actively focused with her team on 5G, VR, next-generation home experience and super apps as the next growth drivers for Orange.
She is also in charge of global start-ups scouting and incubation to the benefits of Orange top line.
Karine sits at the Board of Orange Digital Investments.
What is Orange 5G Lab?
64% of companies surveyed said that 5G will improve their offering or bring them new business opportunities. 72% of them said they were expecting support from their operator on 5G, this is the figure that emerges from the study that Orange conducted at the end of 2020 among companies in France.
To meet this expectation, last year we launched Orange 5G Lab programme, which supports economic players wishing to seize the opportunities offered by 5G, with several objectives:
- Discover the full potential of 5G
- Stimulate innovation to create the uses of tomorrow
- Helping economic players to anticipate changes in products and services
We offer them two free, tailor-made journeys:
- A first ‘Discovery journey’: it offers access to our showrooms to discover inspiring case studies, demos, and our webinars,
- A second ‘Test journey’ for more advanced players: with support and an environment for testing, prototyping and co-innovation. These visitors can test their services with an advanced 5G network, work with Orange Innovation experts, test terminals and equipment in preview to mature innovative projects.
12 Orange 5G Lab sites have been set up to be as close as possible to our partners and local authorities, 9 in France and 3 in the rest of Europe.
What new use cases for 5G connectivity will be explored within the Orange 5G Lab?
Since the inauguration of the first site in Châtillon, we are proud to be able to say that more than 800 companies, from start-ups to large industrial groups, and local authorities have already been welcomed into Orange 5G Lab, 96 of which have benefited from the support offered by our experts as part of the ‘Test journey’.
This first year of experience has also enabled us to identify several trends in the uses of tomorrow, for which companies are already preparing today. For example, our programme has been able to support several projects in a wide range of fields, including Wyca (Industry), AMA (Industry), Bioserenity (Health), Iadys (Environment), Vrombr (Gaming), which was present alongside Orange at the Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2022, and many others.
- Gaming and E-sport with Sporty Peppers and Vrombr service that we presented at MWC 2022 next to Notre-Dame de Paris by Emissive.
- Health applications: telemedicine applications with Bioserenity.
- In the field of industry 4.0 with video-assistance solutions for operators (AMA) and robotics solutions (Wyca).
- Applications in the event industry tested and deployed in real situations during events in the 5G Lab of Orange Vélodrome: Immersiv.io, AR application for immersive fan experience.
- Smart city and smart building with an aquatic surface cleaning robot (IADYS) and more eco-responsible delivery solutions (TwinsWheel).
The programme covers all use cases in all industries; we will keep on co-innovating with our partners on new 5G use cases.
‘The most innovative thing about 5G is what we’ll do with it.’
How will Orange 5G Lab support 5G deployment in Europe and beyond?
Orange 5G Lab is clearly an international programme. We started to open Orange 5G Lab sites in some countries where Orange deploys 5G (Belgium, Romania). And we will keep on opening new sites all over the countries where Orange is operating in 5G.
What are the key challenges facing 5G roll-outs today?
5G has become a reality, and the key challenge now lies in its monetisation. All telecom operators agree on the fact that benefits of 5G will emerge from the alignment of 3 elements: coverage, devices and the full marketing mix of the offer. The offering element goes beyond qualitative connection when watching a video: 5G will unlock new innovative opportunities in the field of gaming of course, but also sports or even culture. The field of exploration is wide, going from those B2C verticals to more B2B ones, such as future of work, collaborative and eLearning.
We are presently identifying and presenting to customers some mobile applications; showing the advantage of 5G coverage in the fields of entertainment, education, and daily life.
We are also currently testing specific use cases such as the ‘Eternal Notre Dame’ immersive experience, which was presented at Mobile World Congress 2022. Thanks to 5G and computation in the cloud, providing together the low latency and speed that virtual reality requires, we allow visual, auditive and tactile effects that generate emotion when virtually visiting the historical cathedral. 5G can connect virtual and reality.
FWA (Fixed Wireless Access) is also an opportunity to provide a FTTH-like service in countries or areas where fiber is not (yet) available and/or when its wholesale costs are high.
How do you see the future of 5G connectivity evolving?
Today’s 5G, also known as 5G NSA (Non-standalone), relies on 4G core networks. It provides a capacity relay to 4G where it is useful to our customers' experience, with a focus on real network performance gains.
The 5G SA (Standalone) technology, which is based on new 5G core networks, will bring increased performance in terms of uplink data rate for the end user and lower latency. For businesses, it meets the need for flexible, scalable, reliable, and secure connectivity for real-time uses. It will be possible to virtually slice the Orange 5G network (also known as ‘network slicing’ feature), prioritise certain slices to cover critical uses or specific needs and offer different levels of quality and security.
Combined with other maturing technologies of AI, IoT and edge computing, 5G SA’s technical performance will allow economic players to manage data as soon as it is produced. It will enable the future development of value-added on-demand and customised services for Orange customers in all sectors of the economy, such as industry, media, transportation, smart cities, or health.
Developing the future uses of 5G with businesses from all sectors of the economy is really part of our innovation approach. This is the reason why 5G SA and advanced features are already available for learning, testing, and innovating with companies at our Orange 5G Lab sites in France and in Europe. And why 5G SA is also deployable globally on demand for B2B customers with Orange Business Services mobile private network solutions.
We’re preparing for the deployment of 5G SA solutions in Orange countries in Europe. 2022 is for us a year of preparation, testing and deployment allowing commercial launches from 2023.
► Find out more about Orange 5G Lab
Visit the Orange website for more details about their Orange 5G Lab solution.
https://5glab.orange.com/en/
Latest research, whitepapers & press releases
-
ReportSeptember 2025Fintech & Payments
Instant Payments Market: 2025-2030
Juniper Research’s Instant Payments research suite provides a wide-ranging and strategic analysis of this market; enabling stakeholders - from banks, infrastructure providers, regulators, and businesses - to understand future growth, key trends, and the competitive environment.
VIEW -
ReportSeptember 2025Fintech & Payments
Anti-money Laundering Systems Market: 2025-2030
Our AML Systems research suite provides a detailed and insightful analysis of this evolving market; enabling stakeholders from financial institutions, law enforcement agencies, regulatory bodies and technology vendors to understand future growth, key trends, and the competitive environment.
VIEW -
ReportSeptember 2025Fintech & Payments
A2A Payments Market: 2025-2030
Our A2A Payments research suite provides detailed analysis of this rapidly changing market; enabling A2A payments service providers to gain an understanding of key payment trends and challenges, potential growth opportunities, and the competitive environment.
VIEW -
ReportSeptember 2025Telecoms & Connectivity
Mobile Messaging Fraud Prevention Market: 2025-2030
Our Mobile Messaging Fraud Prevention research suite provides a detailed and insightful analysis of a market set for significant disruption over the next five years. It enables stakeholders from mobile operators, enterprises, and mobile messaging fraud prevention vendors to understand how the market for mobile messaging fraud will evolve, as well as the impact of AI, RCS, and the evolving competitive environment.
VIEW -
ReportSeptember 2025Sustainability & Smart Cities
Smart Grid Market: 2025-2030
Our cutting-edge Smart Grid research suite provides a comprehensive view of a market at the forefront of the global energy transition. It examines the major disruptions transforming the sector, from the integration of distributed energy resources and the rise of virtual power plants to the growing role of AI-driven intelligence and the mounting need for robust cyber security and compliance.
VIEW -
ReportSeptember 2025Fintech & Payments
eCommerce Payments Market: 2025-2030
Juniper Research’s eCommerce Payments research suite provides a comprehensive and insightful analysis of this market; enabling stakeholders, from eCommerce payment platform providers to merchants and payment service providers, to understand future growth, key trends, and the competitive environment.
VIEW
-
WhitepaperSeptember 2025Fintech & Payments
Core Banking Transformation - A Strategic Conversation with SAP Fioneer
Core banking transformation is no longer optional, as regulatory change, rising compliance costs, and shifting customer expectations make legacy systems unsustainable. Anna Koritz, Global Head of Transaction Banking at SAP Fioneer, shares how banks can overcome cultural and technical hurdles and why SAP Fioneer’s modular, cloud-ready approach enables confident modernisation.
VIEW -
WhitepaperSeptember 2025Fintech & Payments
From Detection to Prevention: The Next Era of Anti-money Laundering
Our complimentary whitepaper, From Detection to Prevention: The Next Era of Anti-money Laundering, examines the state of the AML systems market; considering the impact that a changing regulatory environment and a growing number of use cases is having on the market. Additionally, it includes a forecast summary of the total value of the AML systems market in 2030.
VIEW -
WhitepaperSeptember 2025Fintech & Payments
Ascending-to-Ailing: The Deceleration of A2A Adoption
Our complimentary whitepaper, Ascending-to-Ailing: The Deceleration of A2A Adoption, examines the state of the A2A payments market; considering the impact of this payment method and how it is shaping the modern payments landscape through lower fees and enriched user experience.
VIEW -
WhitepaperSeptember 2025Telecoms & Connectivity
RCS Fraud: Emerging Threats in Next-gen Messaging
Our complimentary whitepaper, RCS Fraud: Emerging Threats in Next-gen Messaging, examines the future of the messaging fraud prevention market, with a particular focus on the latest trends within RCS Business Messaging (RBM). Additionally, it includes a forecast summary of the total cost of fraud over RBM to subscribers in 2030.
VIEW -
WhitepaperSeptember 2025
Decentralising the Smart Grid: Opportunities & Challenges
Our complimentary whitepaper, Decentralising the Smart Grid: Opportunities & Challenges, explores how distributed energy resources, renewable integration, and virtual power plants are reshaping grid management.
VIEW -
WhitepaperSeptember 2025Fintech & Payments
Going Glocal ~ Why Local Payment Methods Are Driving eCommerce
Our complimentary whitepaper, Going Glocal ~ Why Local Payment Methods Are Driving eCommerce, assesses how local payment methods are driving the increasing accessibility to eCommerce, and challenges to eCommerce growth.
VIEW
-
Fintech & Payments
AML Systems Market to Surpass $75 Billion by 2030 Globally, With LexisNexis Risk Solutions, Oracle, and Experian Leading the Defence
September 2025 -
Fintech & Payments
B2B Payments to Hit $224 Trillion by 2030 Globally, Driven by Emerging Market Expansion
September 2025 -
Fintech & Payments
A2A Transaction Value to Reach $195 Trillion in 2030 Globally, Driven by Advanced Value-added Services
September 2025 -
Telecoms & Connectivity
ReveNet: Operators Must Act to Restore Trust & Transparency to $55bn A2P SMS Ecosystem
September 2025 -
Telecoms & Connectivity
RCS Business Messaging Fraud to Cost Mobile Subscribers $4.3 Billion Globally Over the Next 5 Years
September 2025 -
Sustainability & Smart Cities
Smart Grids to Support 43% of Global Electricity Supply by 2030, Driven by Virtual Power Plants
September 2025