Time for a 5G Reality Check

May 28, 2014

By Ernest Worthman —

The fifth generation of cellular technology (5G) promises to be everything to everybody. If you believe that I have some prime swamp land in Arizona that is up for sale. But it is interesting to see what the next thing that can benefit the wireless infrastructure industry. For example, the rise in screen resolution with the recent introduction of 4K (8K is already expected beyond 2020) and the developments in 3D video. Streaming services (audio and video), interactive video, and mobile Internet connectivity will benefit from it.

Automotive platforms are expected to be a new driver for 5G, with many use cases for vehicular mobile communications. One example is in-vehicle entertainment. Various applications for passenger entertainment will require wide bandwidth, high-capacity and high-mobility in their mobile broadband because users will expect to continue their good quality connection independent of their location and speed.

And, shades of the Jetsons but smart societies are on the horizon. Intelligent cities filled with intelligent smart homes that will consist of dense, embedded wireless sensor networks. Distributed networks of intelligent sensors will automatically regulate environmental comfort setting across structures. Security sensors that monitor for burglary, fire and water anomalies will all be involved, as well as wirelessly connected home appliances. The sheer volume of devices will task 5G as it attempts to integrate the management of this ubiquity of diverse connected devices.