5G is the next technological revolution which the world is going to witness… with the impact it will have on the economy, industries and you.

The industry is in the next stage of the 5G technological revolution, building a ubiquitous wireless network that will integrate the data collection and computation with billions of devices. This data analytics will provide us with unprecedented insights and abilities that will determine what we do and how we do it.

5G isn’t just a network, but it is a technological paradigm shift, akin to the change of typewriter to the computer. 5G will soon be the underlying fabric of an entire ecosystem of fully connected intelligent sensors and devices. 5G is capable of overhauling economic and business policies. It will also be capable of delivering at every rung of the ecosystem’s ladder and will provide continuous seamless connectivity for business applications.

All the industries will feel the impact of the shift to 5G especially the Automotive, Internet of Things (IoT), Healthcare, and Media/Entertainment are expected to bring about significant transformations in our daily lives of existence. 5G is a whole new game-changing technology. Utilizing its new radio frequencies and shorter wavelengths, and providing a new level of connectivity which the world is yet to experience.

Following are the disruptions which the industries and businesses will benefit from 5G:

1. Automotive or Autonomous Vehicles:

The relationship between the autonomous car and smart city – with a 5G connection, your vehicle will know precisely the ETA at work, taking the optimal route based on the traffic data communicated by other cars and the roadways. However, for the roads to support millions of autonomous vehicles, it will require a highly fast and reliable network. 5G will facilitate the autonomous vehicles to detect obstacles better, interact with smart signage, communicate with other vehicles, and follow more accurate maps.

There will be a direct and linear relationship between the 5G installation and market adoption of autonomous vehicles. 5G will address the critical pain points such as – Requirements for high-speed and flawless network across all areas; Data management (collecting and organising the vast amount of vehicle data from all players); Achieving autonomy in processes like the automated assembly lines; collaborating with other industries – IT players and marketers. The commercial applications for autonomous vehicles will be substantial – cutting the labours, and reduction in the delivery timelines in the entire supply chain.

2. Healthcare:

In healthcare 5G will enable – always on, secure device connectivity for patients, care providers and caregivers. The combination of timely medical-grade connectivity and data integration across the care continuum will lead to radically transformed and advanced predictive care. According to MIT news, the latest implanted wireless devices are yet unreliable. Hence the application of the Internet of Things (IoT) in the healthcare enabled devices will dramatically expand allowing the patients and care providers with real-time data for preventive care. 5G will also address the following pain points: The growing demand for patient’s data storage and data security; Effectively capture vast amounts of data; Suitable infrastructure availability; and Adaptability of medical equipment.

3. Internet of Things (IoT) and Smart Cities:

5G will enhance the human experience as they connect with everything virtually. Analysts estimate that by 2020, there will be more than twenty billion installed IoT devices in the world generating massive amounts of data. With this kind of access to data, industries will be able to achieve new levels of efficiency and productivity as they develop and add more unique products, services and other capabilities. The modern innovations will build a whole new economy entirely. IoT is transforming the way cities manage systems, infrastructure, and services. Communication is shifting towards machines by connecting multiple digital devices with each other. Implementation of 5G will improve industries and enhance the overall living standards to make our offices, homes, and cities smarter.

The roll-out of 5G will enable billions of devices to be connected to high-speed mobile networks. These sensor networks with higher speed and larger capacity to collect and analyse data will present smart facilities in urban areas.

Some of the advancements to look forward to will be:

a. Smart Traffic Management: Smart street lights will monitor the traffic flow. The smart car navigation systems will guide drivers to avoid roads with traffic jams and the availability of parking lots.

b. Smart grids: It will balance the load of the cities, reduce electricity peaks. During power cuts, it will perform real-time diagnosis and shift the load to a different transformer or device.

c. Smart Homes: 5G will allow users to connect and control all the devices including air conditioners, refrigerators, lighting, and heaters, remotely via Smartphone.

4. Media and Entertainment: The 5G internet era will make it easier and low cost to distribute the content. The top content owners and creators do enjoy a favourable position in the value-chain to earn the profit margins. Industry experts claim that the “Content is King.” With 5G the power to turn back in favour of distribution. 5G providers will own the most fertile land to distribute the best content, and the content providers will have to pay the price. The 5G network providers will have enormous market power at the cost of the cable broadband providers such as Comcast. Expect the cable providers either to partner, acquire, or be acquired by the 5G mobile providers in the near future. With 5G the time taken to download a digitally heavy content like movie, tv, or game will come down to seconds.

The industry prediction is that 5G will lead to significant innovation in the content, shift to live-streaming, and a come back to downloads. Organisations will have access to high resolutions video like 8K with low latency which has implications for literally everything right from video games to marketing. The pain points addressed by the 5G are: Communication with partners and customers via social platforms will the way forward; Quality content, speed streaming/download and latency; Uninterrupted connectivity across multiple devices. 5G’s bandwidth will lead to an evolution in the way we interact online which is equally hard to imagine as Social Media itself was before it arrived.

5. Retail: 5G’s impact on the retail industry – although not as ‘exciting’ – is huge. For the average retailer, according to an Ericsson report, here’s a sneak peak of the challenges that 5G networks can help solve: a) Increasing customer expectations for a unique, personalised shopping experience, with customised products and offerings; b) Increasing cost of retail space driving a move away from significant in-store stock to storing in central warehouses; c) The trend towards omnichannel retail: retailers need to offer complete flexibility in sales channels; d) E-commerce expansion has led to demand from customers to be able to shop from home conveniently; e) One of the emerging trends in retail is the need for personalized retail experiences.

While Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies can support it, 5G will ultimately provide it with the necessary infrastructure. The network offers high-speed in-store connectivity for rich content delivery, low latency enabling mobile AR/VR applications that do not cause nausea and motion sickness, and a continuously secure and reliable connection for a seamless shopping experience. According to data from the Adobe Digital Insights 2018 report, “5G and improved connectivity could mean an additional $12 billion in revenue per year for retailers by 2021.”

To summarise, 5G could be an extension of 4G LTE and LTE-Advanced networks. Its widespread, instantaneous connectivity will unlock its potentials right from smart and connected devices to high-definition AR and VR which is built on a whole new network architecture. 5G is interoperable as it is capable of operating upon existing assets of organisations and will be ubiquitous in the next ten years from now; the chance is real. However, 5G is poised to be the wireless broadband standard that will disrupt all the economy, global industries and you. Adopting it will be necessary for any company, city or country that wants to gain the speed, scope and scale to be an integral part in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

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