The market for 5th generation (5G) networking is estimated to be $12 trillion. 5G smartphone subscriptions are anticipated to reach 1B in 2022 and over 3B in 2026. 5G allows for 10-20 times higher data speeds with greater device connectivity. While these numbers are impressive, the excitement around 5G is the innovation and dramatic transformation that 5G brings to business and life.

Five Decades in the Making

In the 1980s 1G debuted and brought us analog voice. Ten years later 2G introduced digital voice. Another decade flew by and 3G enabled mobile data. Ten more years and 4G LTE introduced the era of mobile broadband. One advancement led to another and here we are, five decades later, assimilating 5G to provide more connectivity and more opportunity than any network advancement in our lifetime.

Agility, automation, assurance, and services-based resources are drivers helping them move as quickly as possible. They are also demanding more from vendors than ever before and partnering in ways previously unthinkable. This includes offloading network management requirements in any area they aren’t already expert. Big bets are being made on engagements with cloud hyperscalers. 

Five Things To Know 

1. 5G satisfies the need for speed – it is FAST! 5G’s fifth generation mobile wireless standard enables high data volume processing with low latency. 5G revolutionizes transport, the way voice, data and video signals get carried from one point to another. 
2. 5G is not an island. Adopters are creating complex, hybrid environments and this impacts the agility of the service providers and potentially introduces risk unless new processes and technologies are adopted to fill the gap. 
3. 5G makes ordinary objects “smarter” by supercharging the internet of things (IoT). IoT as a technology enables ‘smart’ – smart manufacturing, smart cities, and smart hospitals. 
4. 5G is a unified, more capable air interface and as such provides a uniform user experience. Its massive network capacity increases availability providing a more consistent user experience to an increasing number of users – organically. 
5. 5G requires a new generation of “experts” to manage the network. Automation and assurance are must-haves placing a burden on IT service operations. To manage 5G availability, IT service operations must adopt AI enabled operations to automate, prevent and resolve service interruptions at speed and scale.

Five Ways 5G Changes How We Live And Work

5G is already impacting everyday life. Vitria works with many service providers that are staffing and tooling to accelerate the availability of 5G. They provide the backbone to the innovators who are transforming how people and things communicate. During regular conversations with the nation’s largest service providers, I have learned that 5G is highly anticipated but service providers do not underestimate the challenge of closing the gap between the people, process and products required to deliver 5G and what is available in most businesses today. Despite the adoption curve, service providers I speak with are ready to prove that 5G can make transportation safer, make healthcare more accessible and improve logistics to save energy.

Logistics

5G is improving logistics for land, sea, and air delivery by simplifying many communications and signaling processes. This dramatically reduces time and corrects shortages which boots the economy. 

5G increases logistical efficiency and reduces the cost of connected devices. For example, 5G enables connected freight—the ability to track goods throughout the logistics chain. Businesses we support are proving they can reduce shipping costs and ensure merchandise arrives on time to consumers most likely to buy.

Autonomous Car Technology

5G enables vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication. Cars link to smart traffic management systems and omni-directional messaging cars can alert drivers to hazards ahead. AARP, the World Health Organization, and the analysts we rely on, like Charlotte Patrick, a global expert on 5G, suggest that 5G will accelerate the availability of connected cars. This will have a profound effect on road safety and will prevent up to 68 per cent of all road accidents – potentially saving lives. 5G is also providing the data required for analytics/AI used to improve traffic management. This reduces energy consumption while improving conditions that increase safety.

Medicine And Health Equity

Borders dissolve with high speed, low latency 5G. Doctors, located anywhere, reach across economic and geographic borders to diagnose patients, and confer with other doctors to quickly treat patients. Global disasters destroy the human supply chain of doctors and clinicians. A skilled radiologist a thousand miles away reads MRI results in real time to accelerate treatment. In healthcare, seconds matter. Digital equipment at the edge, enabled by 5G, sends data in real time enabling response in minutes.

The use of telemedicine is on the rise. Vitria clients, large regional healthcare providers, are using remote patient monitoring to provide early diagnosis and minimize the impact of chronic diseases. Scientific collaboration, assisted by 5G, is enabling how scientists and research fellows work together to bring life-saving vaccines and serums to the global population.

Improved Urban Transportation

Commuters and their employers are collectively concerned about the time spent commuting in congested urban areas. Working with city planners, we have learned that the shortage of affordable urban housing limits selected populations from the work that suits their training and skills. Ride-hailing, car-sharing and micro-mobility solutions are creating more varied public transport options powered by 5G and Mobility as a Service (MaaS) platforms. MaaS platforms provide transport operators with real-time insights to optimize services and identify new market opportunities.

Consumer Experience

Virtual reality powered by 5G gives makers access to new buyers shopping for anything from anywhere. Engineers in retail, gaming and entertainment are already at work to take advantage of 5G network capacity. High speed, low latency 5G is boosting the $135 billion gaming industry. 5G reduces network slowdowns during usage spikes and eliminates buffering that detracts from the gaming experience. Retailers are applying 5G to improve inventory management. 

Summary

Wireless 5G is a prerequisite for digital transformation and innovation. Everyday engineers are making strides to provide more users access to this powerful networking model. 5G, connecting people, devices, and machines at higher speeds, has the potential to improve the way we work and live. Many CIOs working with IT and business leaders are working to integrate and manage 5G so that we can all enjoy the benefits.