Its path may be a little uncertain, but it is almost certain that 5G technology will help power the future of the Internet of Things by allowing for faster services and decreased latency – enabling more devices connect across the globe.
To put the current connectivity situation into perspective: imagine heading out on a long-distance journey. Today, given our need for wireless connectivity, that’s a somewhat sketchy proposition.
You may have GPS in your car, your laptop alongside you, your phone, maybe a tablet or a smartwatch. But there’s certainly no direct cabling. Chances are there’s no reliable Wi-Fi connection. What if the mobile data connection is weak?
You can forget about googling nearby attractions, picking up emails or streaming. It may work, but chances are it won’t.
Currently, most of our communications are made via single mode transmission – we search for something, it comes back to us. We place a call, the communication goes back and forth.
With 5G technology, our communications will become more interactive and responsive.
5G is basically a fusion of the wireless technology currently available to us. Think of it as a convergence of existing networks – 2G, 3G, 4G, LTE and Wi-Fi.
Getting and staying connected will also be much easier with 5G. Whilst you’ll still need a reliable provider backed by a robust network, your devices will learn to do things like sync or pair automatically – transform the way we communicate and interact with the world around us.
Intel’s Corporate Vice President and General Manager of the Communication and Devices Group, Aicha Evans believes there is a real need for increased network reliability, with “some 50 billion “things” connected to the digital ether by 2020.
Evans added: “5G will make the Internet of Things far more effective, and more efficient from a spectral standpoint.
“Each IOT device and network will use only what it needs and when it needs it, as opposed to just what’s available.”
Think of self-driving cars that have the capabilities to communicate with traffic lights, smart sensor systems, savvy home appliances, industrial automation, connected health innovations, drones and more. All of these things will need to connect to the internet.
Today, Evans estimates that around 30-40% of the world’s population is connected in one way or another.
Evans explained: “We hope that over the next 10-20 years a hundred percent of the population will be connected – this equates to 8 or 9 billion more people demanding network capabilities.
“The current networks will not just disappear, they will funnel into 5G, updating alongside devices and technologies. Transmissions that took seconds, minutes or even days to load or send will be delivered in milliseconds when 5G technology becomes available.
“We think that this is going to be the underpinning of the next wave of the modern economy.”
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