- When 5G hit the US market in 2018, mobile network providers touted it as a technological revolution.
- But five years later, that promise has not materialized. This is mainly due to his non-traditional deployment of 5G.
- Experts said changes to the BI network infrastructure are underway and will bring significant changes.
- This article is part of 5G Playbook, a series that explores one of the most important technological innovations of our time.
5G entered the US mobile scene with great fanfare in 2018. In TV ads, online banners, and radio spots, mobile network providers touted gigabit download speeds, zero latency, and the ability to connect everything from self-driving cars to robotic surgeons. So far, this technology has not lived up to its promise.
In the US, some 5G smartphone users Reported While service and speeds are lacking, some are convinced that 5G is still better. Spreading the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) virus (it’s not).
Still, the industry remains confident that the promise of 5G will come true. In fact, wireless technology company Qualcomm believes that 5G will have a major impact on the global economy. $13.1 trillion in economic output and 22.8 million jobs by 2035.
5G phones may not have changed your life yet, but the mobile technology is already showing promise in rural areas, hospitals, and some “smart” cities. With changes to the network’s infrastructure underway, experts told Business Insider that they expect major network changes in the near future.
5G has not been introduced to the market in the same way as previous mobile networks, but its effects are clear
Unlike the transition to previous generations of mobile wireless technology, the transition to 5G has been much more challenging. There are many issues involved in 5G deployment.
While there has typically been one path forward when moving from one mobile wireless standard to the next, such as from 3G to 4G, this is the path for 5G. Divided into standalone and non-standalone Networks, determined by the Third Generation Partnership Project, a standards committee for mobile broadband technology.
Rather than directly transitioning from 4G to 5G as previously, this fork provides an interim step (non-standalone networks) that allows carriers time to upgrade their infrastructure to support 5G. It means that 3GPP has decided to create it. requirements.
How Mobile Networks Work – Why 5G Deployment Will Be So Different
A mobile network has three parts: a radio access network (the physical towers required for the signal), a transport network (what moves the signal from the core infrastructure to the towers), and a core infrastructure (the servers and software for the technology). There are two components. . The decision to deploy 5G first in a non-standalone manner meant that although the radio towers were initially upgraded to the 5G standard, it continued to use the 4G standard for core infrastructure. Because radio towers and core infrastructure operate to different standards, Non-standalone 5G brought little benefit to existing 4G connections. The lack of widespread adoption of standalone 5G leaves many expectations unfulfilled.
Standalone 5G is gradually being rolled out in the US, Canada, and parts of Asia, with Europe not far behind. If you have a standalone 5G network, There are many usage examplesthis percentage will continue to increase as more carriers are able to migrate away from non-standalone networks.
Will Townsend, vice president and principal analyst at Moore Insights and Strategy, a global high-tech research and advisory firm, predicts that 2024 will be the year most mobile networks transition to standalone 5G. Masu. At the very least, make significant progress towards that goal.
Experts expect standalone 5G to make a big difference
As an advisor, Townsend is often asked about the most impressive use cases for 5G. For him, the most obvious is fixed wireless access. It uses base stations connected to fixed networks to bring his 5G connectivity to regions where carriers have historically struggled to provide affordable, high-quality internet service.
Traditional wired internet access may not yet exist in these areas, making it easier for homes and businesses to acquire 5G base stations and receive internet from 5G towers. In 2022, it added T-Mobile and Verizon. 3 million fixed wireless subscribersup from more than 700,000 in 2021.
“It’s going to be really cool to see what these developers come up with once we get to standalone,” Townsend said of the potential of 5G networks. “The advantage of 5G over 4G is latency, or point-to-point delay. With today’s 4G networks, latency is in the 40ms to 50ms range. With 5G standalone, it’s less than 5ms. , which is an order of magnitude. It’s just amazing.”
However, Niels Kalnins, Director of Development and Custom Management and Program Director of Latvia at the Latvian Electronic Communications Agency, 5G technologysaid that even though 5G has been available for five years, the challenge is not necessarily just infrastructure. What is important is that he understands why 5G technology is not being used properly.
5G Techritory, Europe’s leading 5G forum, is trying to address this issue, but Kalnins said the issue is more about society than the technology itself.
“How is this technology understood?” he said. “What is the ability of different industries to absorb this technology? I think it’s clear that 5G isn’t about how to better connect us via Zoom. It’s about the Internet of Things at scale. It’s about how to link and control IoT systems using artificial intelligence tools. ”
What does the future hold for 5G?
Fifth-generation wireless technology is already being deployed in hospitals across the United States. Cleveland Clinic Mentor Hospital in Ohio uses private 5G networkthe first in the country to do so (though the first 5G-enabled hospital was the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Palo Alto Health System in 2020). Hospitals across Asia are also deploying 5G-enabled healthcare. This technology is also starting to power smart cities such as: colorado springsColorado, and Las Vegas.
Kalnins said he believes 5G’s low latency, which allows machines to communicate more effectively with each other, will lead to greater automation and digitization. He said the factory is a good example of an industry that will be powered by 5G. Easily provide wireless internet coverage On a scale.
As someone who engages in discussions with policymakers, businesses, researchers, and founders, Kalnins believes that the main reason 5G is not yet widespread is that “society is not yet in a position to accept the product or technology, and businesses are I think it’s still not wise. We have enough to get these products out the right way,” he said.
But both Kalnins and Townsend believe the hype surrounding 5G is justified, especially for consumers.
“The interesting thing about 5G is that we don’t know what’s going to happen for consumers,” Townsend said.
