So Where Are We In Terms of 5G Application?
The Bits and Pieces, All Coming Together.
5G wireless operators are currently operating within four countries only. United States, Japan, South Korea, and China. These countries hold the infrastructure and the resources to fund projects related to 5G implementation. What’s the cost of that? Well, billions of dollars by the year 2030.
5G wireless equipment standards are almost complete and the first 5G compliant smartphones and associated wireless devices commercially available in 2019. Use cases of 5G will emerge from 2020 to 2025. By 2030, 5G services will become mainstream and are expected to range from the delivery of virtual reality (VR).
Before I move onto the specifics I want everyone to understand the underlying principles of 5G. This form of wireless communication is meant to be a transition and not a replacement for 4G/LTE (Long Term Evolution). 5G is meant to give 4G a boost. A transformation, you could say 4G to 5G is like going from Saiyan to Super Saiyan 3 (couldn’t resist that).
Let me explain through a series of timeline images that exhibit details of 5G evolution in the markets. These timeline exhibits are courtesy of Technology Business Research.
The first graph looks at the dates that signify important dates. In December 2017, the first implementation of 5G FWA (Fixed Wireless Access) took place. FWA is a way of providing internet service through wireless mobile network technology rather than the old method of providing internet, which was through lines. This is not a new implementation it has been done on 4G as well, but here it is now being done on 5G.
I mentioned latency as part of wireless communications technology. The latency is what determines the speed of the internet pages to load and in the case of 5G, there will be a considerable reduction of latency. That means you get to surf the internet on Wireless Internet strength. The devices that will be utilized on a mass scale for 5G wireless communications are smartphones. In the first half of 2019, we are going to see smartphones that are compatible with this new form of wireless technology. We have already seen manufacturers like Huawei showcasing smartphones that are 5G ready.
I want you to notice how I mentioned the first implementation of 5G FWA and the devices that are compatible with 5G align with one another. The importance of software meeting hardware comes from how well 5G is compatible with devices.
The adoption curve in the Market Landscape image is very important to understand because by the end of 2024 there will be full adoption and from that point onwards we will see a declining trend in the 5G market due to oversaturation over time.
Overtime 5G’s application is being used towards three programs. Mobile Networks, Smart City Implementation as well as Autonomous Vehicle Integration into society.
So what does it cost to implement 5G into the community? $30 Billion Dollars to be exact. A whopping sum, which if you think about it is not a lot considering the given timeline and the number of projects that have to be implemented. The continuum graph will give you an idea of the sum that is being demanded by this worldwide application.
Apart from the progress of where we are in this implementation of this project, we need to know what 5G services will be available to the average consumer. 5G fixed wireless broadband services (FWA)is a form of wireless broadband that enables the establishment of quick and cheap broadband service even in areas that do not have ready access to fixed line home broadband. 5G FWA does not require any engineering works at the customer end-just the provision of so-called Customer Premise Equipment (CPE’s that can be self-installed by the subscriber. 5G FWA is expected to have a huge impact even in developed markets like the US, where there is a sizeable disparity in broadband accessibility between major cities and sparsely populated rural areas.
An example of a practical 5G implementation happened in July at the University of Sussex collaborated with Plum to conduct a practical 5G test with clear ramifications for FWA. These tests operated in the recently auctioned 3.5GHz band and modeled the complicated ways in which 5G signals will interact with buildings and trees. Despite these conditions, the test recorded data speeds that were as much as 100 times faster than normal broadband. Just a side note although this example mentions a United Kingdom example does not mean the UK has become 5G ready they are still in the process of carrying out practical tests for their populous.
Current day example is how the United States has regained global leadership in 5G readiness, putting it on par with China. By the way, China is the biggest competition the United States have faced recently in the implementation of 5G. By the end of this year supposedly United States is meant to have 92 5G deployments almost doubled to other countries in the world according to the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association called CTIA.
I have provided to you, two examples of varied contexts and how fast 5G wireless is being implemented. I beseech you, go do further research beyond this series. This series is not all encompassing but as a means to get you to think about how important 5G is going to become in our lives.
