5G wireless Technology- A potential Game changer???
From 1991 to 2020, in less than 30 years, no Industry would have
changed as much as the telecom Industry especially in India. Indians
Love technology and they reject older technology with as much disdain
as they embrace new technology with enormous fervor. With speeds of
up to 100 gigabits per second, 5G will be as much as 1,000 times faster
than 4G, the latest iteration of mobile data technology. 4G which was
launched by Reliance Jio with so much fanfare and was expected to take
care of our mobility and data needs had hardly matured forget about
Technology Theoretical Down load Used for
speed
2G(1990) 50 KB per sec Text message
3G(2000) 20 MB per sec Text Message, Internet
Access
4G(2010) 100 MB per sec Texting, Internet Access and
Video
5G (2020??) 100 GB per sec Texting, Internet access,
Ultra HD & 3-D Video,
Smart Home
market saturation. 3G as a technology does not have the capacity to cope
with modern mobile working demands. Showing its futuristic approach,
the government of India, seems pretty determined to get 5G services
launched in India by 2020. In this direction, the department of telecom
has already initiated the process of auctioning spectrums for the telecom
players. Around the same time (2020),
As per the OECD
most of Asia is going to embrace 5G
(Organization for
technology.
Economic Cooperation
The pertinent question that arises is, just and Development)
in little less than two decades time, why Committee on Digital
have we moved so fast from 2G to 3G to Economic Policy, it has
been stated that 5G
4G and now 5G in a matter of 3 decades.
technologies rollout
Is it because the earlier technologies are
will help in Increasing
fast becoming obsolete or the new
GDP, Creating
technology (5G) offers irresistible
Employment,
promises? This article tries to look at 5G Digitizing the
from all perspectives. economy.
The first-generation mobile network in
the 1980s brought analog voice to the masses. The advent of integrated
circuit and digital signal processing enabled 2G in the 90s, which made
digital voice available and increased network capacity dramatically. 3G
at the turn of the century, combined mobile data with voice, and now
customers could make a phone call while replying to email. Enter the
2010s, and 4G is all about the wireless Internet at higher speed, and
desktop applications have finally arrived on smartphones.
Like 4G wireless technology and 3G before it, 5G is a wireless
connection built specifically to keep up with the rapid proliferation of
devices that need a mobile internet connection. It’s not just your phone
and your computer anymore, either. Home appliances, door locks,
security cameras, cars, wearables, dog collars, and so many other inert
devices are beginning to connect to the web. Gartner predicts that 20.8
billion devices will be connected to the Internet by 2020. By
comparison, there are currently an estimated 6.4 billion connected
devices in the world. That’s huge number of devices asking for a quick
connection.
Here's just a taste of what 5G will be able to unlock.
Guaranteed awesomeness
Buffering of videos, internet going blank are issues which all of us are
familiar with. With 5G roll out, all of these are going to be things of the
past. Do you want to make sure you always have a dependable
connection? With 5G around, the answer to this question will be a big
yes. With reduced latency (immediate connection) and improved
download and upload speed, 5G might be able to help with that. With
5G, the networks will be smart enough to offer those guarantees to
individuals. Of course, don't expect it to be cheap till the time a critical
mass of handset volume or subscribers is reached.
Remote surgery
Beyond speed, the biggest benefit of 5G is its low latency, or the short
lag time between a device pinging the network and getting a response.
While not necessarily noticeable to many of us, there is a lag with 4G
LTE or even the earlier generation of technologies. A 5G network
virtually eliminates it, meaning a surgeon may not need to be in the
same room as a patient in the future. In other words, a surgeon sitting
thousand miles away could use a VR headset and direct a robot arm to
perform an actual operation which is in another location. This has the
potential of saving travel time and money on the part of doctor and
patient.
Companies are calling this idea the "internet of skills" that would enable
you to transfer your expertise over a great distance in real time using
robotics and haptic feedback.
Self-driving cars
While companies like Google and Uber are investing in self-driving cars
now, many in the industry don't believe a fully autonomous vehicle is
possible without a 5G network.
For driverless cars to avoid crashing into each other or other
pedestrians, they need to communicate fast. It is essential as even a
0.05 seconds lag in the ''Stop'' message can prove to be fatal in these
situations. 5G is needed to achieve this level of ultra-low latency. This
low-level latency is the hallmark of 5th generation wireless technology
(5G).
That instantly responsive network and ubiquitous coverage means the
cars will be able to use 5G to talk to other cars and sensors built around
the city, from service stations to gas stations. Intelligent cars will update
themselves on traffic movement and change travel route if required all of
this on their own without any human intervention. One can call it
success of self-driven cars, but it is actually about smart cities having
smart commuting leading to comfortable life. Extrapolating this to
Indian scenario, there will be no lane cutting and no consequent road
rage thanks to 5G even though it may appear as utopian considering the
enormity of our country.
Drones
Similarly, 5G will unlock the true capability of drones. Drones thus far
are confined to defence forces of countries. With 5G around, Drones can
have diversified area of application from tracking and monitoring of
mining and oil exploration activities to making precise and timely
delivery of goods at households. One can Imagine, the convenience it
can have in terms of saving of fuel, time etc. Operating drones are of
course are subject to approval of regulatory and law enforcing agencies.
Considering the enormous potential, the drones offer, government of the
day is open to allow for diversified use of drones.
Virtual reality (VR) and Augmented reality (AR)
If one thing is certain, it is this: the wider the band, the faster you can go.
Screens and the equipment required to run VR and AR will require
speeds and bandwidth that 4G does not offer. AR and VR depend on
decreased latency to run efficiently. The user experience will be amazing
with a reduced lag time. Without going to Egypt, you can have 3D
immersive experience of the pyramids and from the comfort of your
home; you can have a virtual tour of the Disney city or Ramoji film city.
With a better UX (user experience design) comes more opportunity.
Telemedicine, virtual training environments for business and more will
be the result. (www.fi.edu)
All the deliverables sound exciting but it’s not going to happen
overnight. GOI has indicated and working in that direction to make
5G a reality in India by 2020.
But it will be well worth the wait. If there’s anything that everyone can
agree on, its that speedy internet is a necessity currently. And the
importance of a quick connection is only going to increase. If we’re
going to realize a vision of the future with billions of connected devices,
then blazing fast internet is going to become a necessity—and 5G has
the real potential to help us get there.
On the macro front, the economic benefits from the 5G wireless
technology are also quite immense. As per the OECD (Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development) Committee on Digital
Economic Policy, it has been stated that 5G technologies rollout will
help in Increasing GDP, Creating Employment, Digitizing the economy.
Challenges staring at 5G Roll out
The biggest Challenge: The Cost Factor
For any new technology to be of practical use, it must not be
prohibitively expensive especially for a price sensitive country like
India. The mass adoption of 5G might face some initial roadblocks
regarding this. For starters, the initial subscription plans are likely to be
more expensive than the ones currently available. In addition, carriers
will also have to incur heavy expenses for upgrading their existing
infrastructure to accommodate the new devices and antennas required by
5G systems. It’s going to be a full-blown overhaul, and it isn't going to
be cheap.
➨It requires skilled engineers to install and maintain 5G network.
Moreover, 5G equipment are costly. It also requires great skill to design
mobile applications compatible with 5G. This increases cost of 5G
deployment and maintenance phases and eventually cost of service
delivery to the customers.
➨5G smartphones are going to be costly. The first 5G compatible smart
phone available today in USA is in excess of INR 30,000 which is
simply prohibitive for majority of Indians. Hence it will take some time
for the common Indian to embrace and leverage 5G technology.
➨Coverage distance of up to 2 meters (in indoor) and 300 meters (in
outdoor) could be a big challenge due to higher losses at high
frequencies (such as millimeter waves). 5G mm wave suffers from many
such losses (penetration loss, attenuation due to rain, foliage loss
etc.) Needless to say, it will require a different deployment strategy and
massive budget to minimize the losses and ensure the virtue of 5G is
realized by customers.
➨It will take time for security and privacy issues to be resolved fully in
5G network.
Finally, the billion-dollar question that arises is 0 whether the telecom
players are ready to welcome 5G so soon. In last on year, this industry
has so much of consolidation because of reduced revenue and increasing
losses. With southward revenue movement, will they be in a position to
buy the costly spectrum that the govt is trying to auction. Well, all this
will be answered in next 12-18 months time. (according to TRAI)
