What is 5th Generation Mobile good for?
5G, or 5th Generation Mobile, is the next big leap in wireless communications. You’ve probably heard about it in commercials or seen it in headlines. But much of the discussion so far about the new technology has been focused on its engineering features, infrastructure requirements and public policy considerations. With technical buzzwords like “network slicing,” “beamforming,” and “multiaccess edge computing,” it may be hard to really understand what 5G is all about and why we should care.
Here, then, is a brief explanation of how 5G will be used and what it will mean for your online experience - and your everyday life. Existing applications: 5G, which will supplement rather than replace today’s 4G networks, will radically improve the bandwidth, capacity and reliability of mobile broadband, much more than in previous generational shifts. How? In part by packing thousands of small antennae onto cell towers, utility poles and buildings, 5G will push mobile speeds from 100 Mbps to upward of 10 Gbps, a thousand-fold increase that will make next- generation wireless competitive with even the fastest fibre- optic wired networks.
With all that new capacity, expect to be watching even more high- defi nition video on your smartphone or tablet, including ultra-high defi nition movies and emerging technologies such as augmented and virtual reality applications (think of Pokemon Go as a prototype). The benefits to come: But the real excitement over 5G comes with new uses that simply aren’t possible with today’s networks. Many of these involve the revolution in sensors, low- cost transmitters and cloudbased software known as the Internet of Things ( IoT), or “connected” or “smart” devices.
Right now, IoT products include stand- alone devices, such as fitness monitors, smart thermostats, programmable door locks and lightbulbs, connected appliances and other gadgets. But as billions more things go online over the next several years, they will be using 5G networks to send and receive massive amounts of new data.
Uses for that information will scale up from the deeply personal to the global - connecting you, your home and your community.
At the human level, for example, 5G will be used for connecting smart clothing, prosthetic devices, and even ingestible health monitors. Consider start-up Veristride, which has been working since 2012 on smart shoe technology. That might sound silly, but not to the millions of Americans with temporary or permanent mobility issues, for whom constant feedback from onboard sensors could help teach them to walk again after a stroke or surgery.
At home, 5G networks will move beyond the cliche of refrigerators that automatically reorder milk to fully integrated living spaces that adjust to the needs of every member of the family, providing home security, optimizing power and water usage, and personalising entertainment. Smart homes will be much more energyeffi But more important for an aging population, 5G networks will help seniors to age in place, monitoring their medications, connecting them to telehealth services and tracking everything from sleep to insulin levels.
Rural users will benefit as well, as 5G enables smart agriculture, communicating with sensors in the ground, in crops and on livestock and farm machinery. Along with weather satellites and drones, these technologies will help farmers know when and how much to water, fertilise and apply pesticides in more effective and environmentally friendly ways. Smart farming may also drive the case for deploying 5G networks to rural areas more rapidly, closing what remains of the digital divide as a happy side effect.