Since the invention of smartphones, the demand for a better and faster connection has rapidly increased. After the first generation (cell phone) and second-generation (digital phone) of mobile technology consumer needs for this faster and better connection started increasing. In 2003 the third generation (3G) came along and with it opportunities to browse the web, watch videos and listen to music anywhere from your smartphone (United Consumers, n.d.). Technology kept advancing and in 2009 the next generation (4G) was introduced. 4G was a big upgrade from 3G since it brought faster access speed (up to 21 Mbps), higher capacity, reduced latency, and HD streaming amongst other things (Broadband Compared, 2016).
Now it’s 2019 and the introduction of the fifth-generation (5G) is right around the corner. Just like 4G was an improvement on the existing 3G, 5G will be an improvement on 4G. It will bring faster download and upload speed; the connection speed will increase to over 10Gbps. This means that the download time for a movie on your mobile device will decrease from 7 minutes to just 6 seconds (Moscaritolo, 2018). Latency will also be further reduced from 50 milliseconds to 1 millisecond, and the information transfer rate will increase. 5G will allow millions of devices to be connected at the same time (Imnovation, 2018).
These improvements will not just let you download your movies faster, there are many other opportunities that it will bring. One of the most talked-about opportunities is smart cities. 5G will allow a vast number of devices, mobile and not mobile, to be connected in densely populated areas and allow for communication between these devices. For example, you can connect your coffee maker to your alarm clock, making sure you wake up to a nice cup of coffee in the morning (Imnovation, 2018).
Furthermore, 5G technology is crucial for the advancement of autonomous vehicles. It will allow cars to be connected to each other and to sensors around the city, providing real-time information regarding congestion and accidents. The current 4G network is not fast enough to support safer and smarter autonomous cars, but the 5G network is. The reduced latency will allow messages between sensors to be transmitted and forwarded to the car faster than the average time it takes humans to make decisions (which is 2 milliseconds) (Llanasas, 2019).
Another application lies in the healthcare industry. Currently, there are companies working on a robot arm, operated by a special glove and VR headset, that can perform surgery. A surgeon would not need to be in the same room anymore as the patient. This will be made possible by the decreased latency associated with the 5G network (Cheng, 2017).
Besides these applications, there are many more opportunities that 5G will bring in areas like virtual reality, drones and many more. The possible applications seem endless and will likely transform our day-to-day activities. The introduction of 5G is seen by many as a great opportunity and is said to completely change the way we live.
References:
Broadband Compared. (2016). What is 4G? Everything about 4G Explained. Retrieved from https://www.broadbandcompared.co.uk/guides/what-is-4g-everything-about-4g-explained#targetText=4G%20works%20much%20in%20the,%2C%20however%2C%20affected%20by%20location.
Cheng, R. (2017, March 2). Cnet. Retrieved from Not just speed: 7 incredible things you can do with 5G: https://www.cnet.com/news/5g-not-just-speed-fifth-generation-wireless-tech-lets-you-do-vr-self-driving-cars-drones-remote/
Imnovation. (2018). What is 5G technology and what will its impact be like in our everyday life? Retrieved from Imnovation hub: Hours of Download Time Per Month
Llanasas, R. (2019, March 11). Machine Design. Retrieved from 5G’s Important Role in Autonomous Car Technology: ) https://www.machinedesign.com/motion-control/5g-s-important-role-autonomous-car-technology#targetText=Why%205G%20is%20Crucial%20for%20Autonomous%20Cars&targetText=Self%2Ddriving%20cars%20use%20hundreds,make%20vehicles%20faster%20and%20smarter.&targetTex
Moscaritolo, A. (2018, October 16). Hours of Download Time Per Month. Retrieved from PCmag: https://www.pcmag.com/news/364392/5g-will-save-you-almost-24-hours-of-download-time-per-month
United Consumers. (n.d.). 3G internet op elke mobiele telefoon. Retrieved from https://www.unitedconsumers.com/gsm/mobiel-internet/3g.jsp
Dear Eline, interesting article! 5G does indeed show potential for interesting applications. It will especially be interesting to see the effect it will have on company revenues in the long run. The introduction of 4G already resulted in decreased revenues for network providers in a few regions, including Europe and Latin America, and 5G comes with even greater necessary infrastructure investments. Due to its short range, caused by its millimeter waves, the needed investments could even result in the roughly doubling of network costs. How do you think this will have an impact?
(https://www.businessinsider.com/5g-high-speed-internet-cellular-network-issues-switch-2019-4?international=true&r=US&IR=T & https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/technology-media-and-telecommunications/our-insights/the-road-to-5g-the-inevitable-growth-of-infrastructure-cost)
Thanks for the read, Eline. Interesting to read how 5G will bring further improvements in our digital world. I noticed you are highlighting many advantages, but what about the disadvantages or threats? What are the further implications for our privacy for instance? I can imagine that in countries such as China, where in the government tracks your day-to-day actions and behaviour, people will experience the negative effects of an advancement such as 5G. But also in Western countries I feel as if many privacy issues will occur one everything and everyone will be connected. I’m curious where this will lead to!
Dear Eline,
Great read!
Apart from the positive effects of the rise of 5G there are also a number on noteworthy issues that lately have gained some attention. First, of all there is the issue that 5G suffers more from interference then 4G and therefore we also need more antennas (the reason why 5G rollout has been slow), and an even more important issue is that a number of health studies have pointed out that 5G has a high chance of being a risk for human health.
Do you think this will impact the roll-out of 5G in the future globally?
https://ehtrust.org/key-issues/cell-phoneswireless/5g-networks-iot-scientific-overview-human-health-risks/