How 5G creates real time
Faster and much-improved connectivity will usher in a whole new world.
What will 5G mean to you? Faster and much-improved connectivity will usher in a whole new world. From a business point of view, one big attraction with 5G is how the new mobile technology improves Internet of Things’ (IoT) connectivity.
Plenty of organisations already use IoT technology. It was called Machine to Machine (M2M) communication in the 2G, 3G and 4G eras, before being renamed as the catchier IoT.
Vodafone’s New Zealand network already has some 1.6 million devices connected to it.
Scott Pollard, Vodafone’s Country Manager for IoT, says the technology is about obtaining near real-time information from various parts of an organisation’s business.
That could be transport companies obtaining detailed data from their fleets, to dynamically map routes vehicles take. Choosing the most efficient routes cuts down time spent on the road, fuel consumption and helps right-size the number of vehicles and drivers.
Lines companies could install sensors detecting movement and proximity on power poles. If a tree is detected to be swaying too close to a power pole or line, technicians receive an alert to remove it before it topples and cuts the electricity supply.
That kind of information is hugely valuable — but only if it reaches the people who need it. That’s where IoT comes in.
“The Internet of Things is about the collection and safe transportation of that information, so you can actually get it and do something with it,” Pollard says.
How does 5G improve IoT over 4G? While low-power 4G IoT applications helped create heaps of different connected devices, they are mainly monitored by machines over the current network.
In comparison, 5G takes this further and will let machines control IoT devices they connect to. The new mobile network technology brings in substantially lower latency or delay, crucial for remotely-controlled interactions in almost real-time. Going from passive monitoring to active control will make a huge difference for IoT applications.
Further improving the responsiveness of IoT is the upcoming MultiAccess Edge Computing for 5G (MEC) — meaning processing of information can be done close to devices, in small data centres in or near cell towers.
Doing so shortens the path data has to traverse so, if it can be handled closer to customers and doesn’t need to go to a computer cloud a long way off, performance will be much snappier.
Importantly, 5G will provide accurate positioning, navigation and timing capabilities, for moving as well as stationary objects, thanks to a denser network structure with multiple small cell sites.
Cell site capacity under 5G is 10 times more than 4G; up to a million devices can be connected to each cell site. With the help of network slicing, operators can dedicate a segment of 5G capacity specifically for IoT use as well.
What does the improved network capability build up to? A connected world with sensors for home automation, business intelligence, farm management, environmental monitoring and, yes, those self-driving cars everyone’s waiting impatiently for.
This could change how we commute to work for the better.
Already Vietnam is trying out roadside sensors connected to 5G networks to direct traffic in Ho Chi Minh City. This provides real-time information on traffic flows, the type of vehicles on the road and how fast they go, even how close people drive to each other.
The data collected can then be used to predict where accidents and congestion could occur, to warn other road users. In coming years, the roadside network will connect to sensors in self-driving vehicles as well.
Autonomous vehicles themselves have plenty of intelligence on board; 5G adds to this.
“The role 5G plays is the exchange of information which will say ‘where’s the traffic?’, ‘where’s the congestion?”, ‘what’s the road toll — have you paid for your trip?’, and ‘by the way the kids are all streaming high-definition movies in the back,” Pollard says. At work, 5G could find its way into manufacturing and delivery robots and drones. Thanks to the reliable, low-delay, 5G connections those machines will move around safely without mowing down humans getting in their way.
That’s if humans need to be at the workplace at all: “It’s just about taking it to the next level, once you get really reliable, robust and secure networks that can enable robotics remotely,” Pollard says, apropos telehealth applications for 5G.
Cheaper low-power sensors for 5G that don’t require cabling will make homes truly “smart”, possibly to the point of being annoying. Playlists that follow you from your home devices to mobiles and cars, fridges and pantries that automatically order essentials from the supermarket when stocks are low, delivered by 5G-connected drones, power and heating systems that optimise electricity use and temperatures are just some of the applications already under way.
So it doesn’t take long to realise the potential for efficiency at every level, from resource usage to cost savings, that an IoT connected reality brings.
While some of the changes (like reduced traffic jams due to better management of vehicles) on the road will result in better lives for all, increased automation could see a raft of manual jobs disappear. Couriers, rideshare drivers and supermarket staff probably won’t be around for much longer as connected devices take over their jobs.
The consequences of that is a discussion we should have now and not after it has happened. “The Internet of Things is about the collection and safe transportation of that information, so you can actually get it and do something with it,”
“The Internet of Things is about the collection and safe transportation of that information, so you can actually get it and do something with it,”