5G – Making Businesses Smarter, Safer and Well-managed
Staying connected to our mobile devices has become an essential part of our everyday life. The world continues to be more connected, and the upcoming technologies give us an insight into the trends that we may expect in the coming few years. 5G is all set to be far more advanced and have more potential than previous networks. 2G gave us fast SMS and pictures messaging, 3G made us familiar with mobile internet, with 4G online socialising, live streaming and sharing our daily life with the world just became a usual activity. 5G, the fifth (next) generation wireless network technology, though it sounds like an evolved version of 4G in its naming convention, it is rather a giant leap forward with a potential to make businesses smarter, safer, and more well-managed. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone if one says, 5G technology is more than just hype.

The technology that will change the way we live and do business

The potential of this 5th generation network is tremendously huge. The technology world is abuzz with both positive and negative news about 5G technology and its impact on our lives. As people continue to debate, whether 5G is here or not and what will be its impact on business, most of the enterprises are yet to figure out the real potential of the technology, while many are anxiously waiting to embrace it for their business. For a layman, 5G is just about the speed, which is not the only fact, but it is about the increased capacity and ultra-low latency, that can revolutionise the world into a completely new place.

The consumers have experienced the introduction and lifespan of 3G and 4G. Out of habit, they believe 5G will be just an upgraded version of its predecessors, the way things have turned out previously. While in 4G networks large radio towers are built to transmit signals over long distances using lower frequency radio waves, in 5G networks many more small-cell antennas will be mounted, on buildings, streetlights, and other public and private places. Massive amounts of data will be transmitted using these small cells over short distances employing ultra-high-frequency spectrum. This grouping of various network access points, high-frequencies spectrum and cloud-based network technologies will create the next generation 5G networks.

How will it impact businesses?
Companies are in a rat race to unlock the door to 5G networks, as we see it develop and transform at an incredible pace. Countries are competing with each other to become the first one to deploy fully operational 5G nationwide. The reason is, the benefits of the new technology will not only fuel the growth and expansion of businesses at an unforeseen pace but also help underpin a positive digital culture that will inspire greater confidence and effective collaboration across different sectors.

5G is here to transfigure your business and is believed to be ideal for real-time services. A technology in which everything will be connected, processed and digitised. It has not reached its complete phase, but one thing is sure that its high speed and lower latency will have a massive impact on businesses and job creation. As per Qualcomm, it is expected to create 22 million jobs and contribute a $13.2 Trillion economic benefit across the globe by 2035.

The advancement in technology is transforming the way businesses operate. With the launch of 4G, we saw an exceptional improvement in user experience. There was much faster download speed and countless mobile applications tailored to user expectation and industry. 4G also introduced interactive mobile gaming and video streaming via both iOS and Android devices. As we tread further in our hunger to achieve more through technology, the promises to elevate the technology landscape will help us in creating a smarter and more connected world.

The giant leap from 4G to 5G has a potential of much higher transformation in business than what we have experienced till date. It is more than the great speed that one has experienced ever. The speed that will not just have an influence on the local market but its exponential impact will be felt globally.

 

Key Benefits and How it Can Change Business for Better
Though 5G networks are the biggest buzzword in the tech world today, not everyone knows what it is and how it can benefit businesses. There is no doubt that 5G is way faster than its predecessor – offering speed around 200Mbps that can go up to 1Gbps, against the download speeds of up to 60Mbps for 4G.

However, the key benefits are, it offers greater capacity and much ultra-low latency as compared to 4G. Meaning, it can successfully connect thousands of internet-enabled devices parallelly, from phones to IoT (Internet of Things) sensors. As 5G continues to grow, the stimulation will be felt across industries. With the increased connectivity and lesser latency, it promises to be the real game-changer. Businesses should now start finding ways to gain a competitive advantage using this 5th generation technology of the public wireless network.

Here we will discuss the three key attributes of 5G networks that will benefit businesses:
• Ultra-low latency
• Increased capacity
• Increased bandwidth

Ultra-low Latency
Ultra-low latency means better response time – that is the length of response time that takes between command (data packets) being issued and a response being received. While in the 4G network, response time is between 40 and 50ms, 5G can respond to a command in just 1ms. Lower latency is crucial for anything that needs true real-time response like in the case of remotely controlled robotics.

With lower latency businesses can have richer communication between customers and remote workers. It means high-resolution video, audio, and images will be streamed rapidly without any glitch. This is ideal for mission-critical applications like self-driving vehicles to avoid collisions, new types of business applications, in search and rescue missions where drones can communicate on real-time, robotic surgeries where operations can take place remotely or even in the manufacturing sector to control tools and machinery. It will also help in increasing opportunities to use augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). It will enable faster decision making and deliver more accurate results.

Increased Capacity
5G also offers increased capacity compared to its predecessors across a larger frequency spectrum, meaning the network will have a much larger number of devices communicating with each other. There will be a dramatic increase in the number of devices. It includes higher frequencies, including “millimetre” waves – between 30Ghz and 300Ghz.

According to experts, it will have a 100-times increase in traffic capacity and network efficiency than 4G with the purpose of handling high-demand applications simultaneously. This connectivity will help the government manage natural disasters at a much faster pace as emergency responders will arrive faster by switching traffic. Moreover, organisations with fleets or machinery will have access to the Internet of Things (IoT) with 5G that will help them maximise their efficiency and speed up their processes, helping them with more accurate data.

Increased Bandwidth
Increased bandwidth in 5G means very high download and upload speeds, that will help improve applications performance and remove bottlenecks. While 4G download speeds are 100Mbps; 5G download speeds will be 10Gbps in the due course. Imagine the experience of downloading an HD movie within 36 seconds, a TV show within 3 seconds and 25 songs in under one second, that too with 1Gbps speed.

Increased bandwidth will enable sharing of gigantic size video files or presentations in seconds. It will be a great relief for remote workers who require to download files even when they are travelling. Likewise, remote workers can also engage in HD video communications effortlessly, regardless of where they are stationed. It will change the way governments, enterprises, and other setups, communicate with their workers, customers and partners.

Get Ready for 5G
● Know what 5G is and how it is different from 3G and 4G technologies
● Identify new opportunities
● Find out how technology can be a great benefactor to re-organise your business by increasing efficiency and encouraging online collaboration
● Engage your staff in the process when you plan to consider 5G to encourage remote and flexible working
● Search for the 5G service providers in your locality and find out what they are offering
● Check 5G handsets and dongles to learn what is most suitable for your business