The Future Delayed? How Far is 5G And What it Would Mean For IoT
by Vijay J. Digital Marketing Head at LetstrackIt’s been quite some time that the hype
around 5G and its relation to the internet of things (IoT) has been growing
exponentially. So far, a number of service providers have said that 5G will be
the next-generation mobile network that provides everything from superfast
bandwidth speeds, to ultra-low latency, to ten-times the geographic coverage.
But when and how it translates into real life is something we’ve all been
eagerly waiting for.
However, one of the biggest things we have
yet to decode is what all this means for enterprises that work in IoT,
typically what’s lacking is the real substance and clarity. While the buzz is
ever increasing, this has the potential to fundamentally transform mobile
cellular networks. It takes time to set up the base for something this huge in
scale, and the way the frequency of updated about 5G is getting lesser and
lesser is a bit worrying. But despite the narrative that’s being spread that 5G
is just around the corner, it’s still in early deployment stages.
In reality, deployment of 5G might not see
the light of day anytime soon. Given the rate at which cellular networks are
established, it will be some time yet before 5G networks are widespread enough
to roll out a global IoT product. This is leading to questions like why has 5G
suddenly become indispensable for IoT? The Network + IoT conflict doesn’t just end
there. If we think about our current needs for IoT, what we care about are
three things: price, coverage, and lower power consumption.
One of the biggest concerns is that 5G
lacks a solid definition, which means cellular providers could eventually label
a slightly-faster-than-LTE connection as 5G. And truly, the only thing that is
certain about 5G is that we won’t know what it can and cannot do until it
arrives. Until then, it’s all speculation and those in the realm of IoT will be
learning through trial and error method, which isn’t a good way to go about
when the future of a technology is in question. As of now a few things we can
be sure about is that IoT will pick up the pace and mainstream due to the
faster speeds and less network drops.
Once the global infrastructure is in place,
only then can 5G actually bring about a change. To actually tap into the
complete potential of what it can do for us, the policy makers and governments
will have to work with private companies. Which is especially hard in a country
like India, majority of the nation is still marred by lack of LTE. The rural
part of India which is vast, will have to be covered and serviced which isn’t
in place as of now. It’s safe to say that even if 5G was to suddenly change
course and arrive in the mass market in the next few years, India might not be
ready for such a huge change in its telecom operations.
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Created on Mar 4th 2020 07:08. Viewed 251 times.