Thanks to the Internet of Things (IoT), the trend of increasingly connected devices will continue to increase with the advancement of 5G technology.
Increased speed and reduced latency allow autonomous devices to communicate with each other faster and more reliably, making decision-making and subsequent actions more efficient.
This speed and reliability increase increases security and reduces costs.
Another advantage of 5G networks over 4G is that they achieve new levels of connectivity and device communication with faster, lower latency, and more reliable connections, giving you the performance to connect more devices to your network. is. Enables data transfer in remote locations.
But before we go any further, let’s take a look at exactly what these two technologies are and their purpose.
What is IoT? What is it for?
The best way to know what IoT is is to know its uses. Direct communication between devices has countless applications for streamlining, improving, and automating processes of a different nature in various fields, such as industrial processes, autonomous mobility, and digitalization. various fields.
At this point, 5G will emerge as a support for high-power infrastructure to ensure more secure and stable connectivity for thousands of smart devices at the same time.
What is 5G? What is it for?
5G is the fifth generation of mobile networks and is an improved and enhanced version of the previous generation, 4G. The real disruption will occur in 2010, when the capacity that infrastructure can provide will be 1,000 times more than his.
Until 4G, mobile networks were designed by people for people, but from 2G onwards, connectivity began. 4G is also the first version developed with IoT in mind, which has different requirements and needs than humans.
One example is NB-IoT, which focuses on device simplicity (and therefore cost) and maximizing battery life to extend lifespans to unexpected limits of 10 years or more.
This comes at the cost of speed and latency, but for certain IoT applications speed and latency are less important, and simplicity and battery life are more important. 5G will continue to advance these aspects
As mentioned earlier, this technology supports the growing number of connected devices in a variety of sectors, including Industry 4.0, telemedicine, education, streaming broadcasting, connected vehicles, and smart cities.
Why is 5G important for IoT?
The impact of 5G will largely be related to the amount of devices connected simultaneously in different areas.
For example, at the household level, home appliances, security, or entertainment systems can help increase comfort at home.
The importance of low latency is particularly evident in sectors such as industry and medicine, where the ability to operate remotely in near real-time may be important in certain situations.
4G was already a significant step forward, but 5G is evolving networks to allow orders of magnitude more machines to connect to the network. To put this in context, currently mobile networks typically have less than one IoT device per person ‘on the move’, but this is rapidly changing and in a few years there will be two IoT devices per person. Or three IoT devices could become connected. A “mobile person”.
Some application examples show how 5G and IoT can complement each other
Let’s look at some examples of how 5G development can benefit IoT.
connected car
In the case of a connected car, understood as a vehicle with internet access that can send and receive data, the promotion of 5G and the Internet of Things will improve road safety while reducing costs and pollution.
With the ability to predict dangerous situations, we estimate that connected cars will save 11,000 lives and eliminate 260,000 accidents worldwide annually, resulting in reduced health problems and even economic losses. I have a report.
Additionally, traffic congestion is prevented and drivers can reroute using alternative routes, reducing environmental pollution caused by traffic congestion.
Industry 4.0
Advances in 5G and IoT will enable advances in the industrial sector by adapting operator tasks to machine work and machine-generated data. Some of the positive aspects created by the combination of connectivity and production sectors include:
- Improve energy efficiency by monitoring both energy consumption and emissions in real time.
- Increase business profitability by reducing costs and providing improved services.
- Control of machinery to reduce risks and accidents.
- Minimize potential human risks and improve production quality by reducing manual labor.
telemedicine
As already mentioned, 5G has virtually zero latency, allowing you to work remotely and in real time, making it possible, for example, to perform surgical operations thousands of kilometers away.
IoT can be used to monitor patients remotely, which is especially helpful when it comes to people with chronic illnesses and the elderly.
conclusion
Increasing the number of connected devices that can transmit information faster will allow different sectors to benefit in a variety of areas, including safety, sustainability, and productivity.