5G gains significant publicity. Despite this, the uncertainty in the transition from 4G to 5G remains the hot topic to discuss along with its benefits, health impacts, impacts on business and economy, etc. The fast pace of implementation of 5G technology by many countries certainly takes the globe in a technological advancement era.

The journey from voice calls to video streaming is an example of improved technology and better possibilities in every sector. The introduction of 5G must be proved to be a milestone in technology advancement. It is way more effective and technical than 4G which brought higher internet speed, video-streaming, video conferencing, etc.

5G in brief

5G is the fifth generation of cellular network which is almost 100 times faster than 4G.  It is the fastest, most robust technologies, that means quicker download, lower latency, real-time streaming, improved day-to-day experience can be the available facilities. Apart from faster speed, 5G enables greater bandwidth, redefining the network, transforming industries and day-to-day life, etc. that creates never-before-seen opportunities for businesses and individuals. In one line, 5G seems to be a network for an advance, sustainable, and tech-savvy future.

Advantages of 5G

The key benefits of 5G are

Upgraded Speed – Upgraded speed is the most widespread benefit of 5G. The connection speed upgrades with the evolution of the telecom network. 5G technology delivering data rates up to 10-20 Gbps speed up almost 100x than 4G. Such a staggering jump in data rates is of interest to businesses across the globe and across all industries and sectors. Over time data has become a new asset and every organisation runs with a hefty amount of data. The speed which 5G is promising is no less than a boon to them.

Higher Device Capacity – With the increase of data infrastructural load and utilisation of more devices for transferring more and more data remains the priority which 4G network is not enough for. 5G technology promises to support approximately one million connected devices per 0.38 square miles which is quite higher than what 4G is supporting now. These capacities from 5G opens doors IoT development which enables enterprise network to host large numbers of the device in their IT infrastructure and allows to undertake simultaneous data transfer.

Lower Latency and Increased Bandwidth – Latency means a network is optimised to provide a large volume of data with minimal delay. In simple terms, it is a time gap between when the data is sent and when it is received and acknowledged. 5G which promises lower latency and higher bandwidth provides seamless connectivity i.e. now live-streaming in real-time seems possible.  For an Internet of Thing (IoT) ecosystem, latency is an important metric for a business and the introduction of 5G with lower latency improves the functionality of IoT devices.

5G is expected to be a pioneer of a massive IoT ecosystem globally. 5G and massive IoT ecosystem can help develop different industries like healthcare, manufacturing, retail, transportation, etc in a unique and innovative way. Extreme simplicity, low power consumption, coverage of challenging locations and tasks, and increased connection density can be the prima facie for a massive number of devices deployed for IoT applications.

Benefits of 5G for consumers

Connected vehicles – 5G brings unprecedented speed and connectivity which means autonomous or self-driving cars can be a reality. 5G allows faster-than-ever data transmission and communication processing between vehicles, road safety measurements, infrastructure, and pedestrians. This means now communication between everything on the road can be facilitated.  

Streaming and Entertainment – With low latency and virtually unlimited capacity 5G is an advantage over previous technologies. Not only better quality, faster streaming, and real-time view but also multisensory digital content are advantages from 5G which can support Virtual reality (VR), Augmented reality (AR), and 3D.

Benefits to the Transportation Industry

With the introduction of ridesharing 4G has disrupted the taxi industry, now 5G is here possibly to disrupt the entire transportation industry by enabling fully autonomous vehicles. An autonomous car, if equipped with sensors, cameras, radar, sonar, and lidar system generating gigabytes of data a day can overshadow the current 4G based transportation industry. Improved infosystems, advanced driver assistance systems, and autonomous vehicles are the major benefits in the transportation industry.

Benefits to Healthcare Industry

Robotics virtual surgeries and treatments are not new but 5G can ensure such treatments to be safer and reliable. Medical technology with 5G and Internet of Medical Thing (IoMT) can be able to monitor patients in real-time, and in the case, if the medical device detects some issues like extremely low blood sugar, high blood pressure, or cardiac arrest it will immediately notify the closest practitioner or first responder to take action.

Benefits to other Industries

Like the transportation and healthcare industry, 5G has its impact and benefits on industrial applications and manufacturing industries too. Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), Digital Twins, massive machine-to-machine traffic can have a greater impact on these industries. 5G acts as a backbone to the traditional manufacturing machines which become smart with the addition of sensors and enables data communication between machines. Digital twins of physical assets seem to be a reality with the introduction of 5G.

For the energy sector, 5G with rapid and reliable connectivity offerings makes grid balancing manageable which once used to be a challenging task. 5G clearly wins over the continuous rise of distributed energy generation systems at the expense of large and centralised facilities which used to be challenging in balancing the power supply to match demand across a grid.

Apart from the above industries, 5G is beneficial for financial institutions, markets and traders too. 5G enabled system can send information to financial advisors, stock owners and traders as soon as information starts trending on social media, news outlets, or other information sources.

The Last Corner

The future of 5G is undoubtedly bright. It is no less than a technological revolution that will impact day-to-day life along with professional life. From security to entertainment to transportation almost every area of human experience will be improved.