With the advent of 5G networks taking place globally, various industries have begun to question how they can leverage this super-fast network.
Two particular applications are emerging as leaders in 5G adoption – in-vehicle communications and broadband failover.
In this blog we will discuss the adoption of 5G for failover and future-proofing.
To find out more about how high-speed networks enable in-vehicle communication, view our previous blog post.
What Are the Advantages of 5G Over 4G?
So why are so many businesses and consumers excited about 5G? Firstly, 5G has the advantage of being able to transfer far more data over the air due to its utilisation of higher digital radio frequencies. This means faster upload and download speeds, more devices supported in the same geographic area with less congestion, and most importantly, lower latency.
4G by comparison is susceptible to congestion, particularly in high-density areas where demand on the network is increasing daily. So for IoT applications that require real-time, reliable communications, (such as ATMs) the low latency, high-speed data transfer offered by 5G is essential. It can also open doors to new technological developments that would have previously been impossible – read on to find out more.
Who Can Benefit From 5G?
A huge range of industries will see the benefits of 5G once the infrastructure is in place to support it.
Enterprise Communications, Utilities, Retail, Healthcare, Training and Smart Cities applications can all be improved by low-latency comms.
How Will This Affect Enterprise Connectivity & Branch Office Networking?
With the increased stability and speed offered by LTE Cat-4 & Cat-6 we’ve already seen businesses around the world augment their traditional fixed line internet access with an additional cellular router for seamless back-up/failover.
5G builds further on that framework and allows companies to further push the reliability of their office networks through faster speeds. Offices on high-speed cable connections can failover to 5G and barely notice a decrease in speed or productivity; where offices on older generation fixed line technology may even benefit from using 5G as a primary internet source.
How Will This Affect Failover in More Traditional IoT Applications?
The expectation is that 5G can be used similarly to how we currently use cellular LTE – providing instant backup (failover) from a fixed line connection to a 5G network and then to LTE/4G, so you are always connected.
For retail, kiosk and digital signage, this means seamless inventory and operations, and no downtime on payments. It could also mean more unstaffed stores in the future, in which customers are able to walk in and walk out with purchases - no queuing for POS, because charges are made to their credit card via phone and/or facial recognition software.
Digital signage implementors could see the benefits of always-on, highly-personalised messaging to consumers.
The healthcare landscape could also change dramatically – we have already seen our reliance on telehealth grow due to the COVID pandemic. The increased reliability and speed that comes with 5G could enable real-time remote surgeries, or AR/VR training for medical staff.
Perhaps most importantly for public health, 5G also offers increased security. The network is designed to be split to adjust for coverage, speed, capacity and security requirements.
Network slicing provides a dedicated, encrypted system for IoT solutions that is currently lacking in Wi-Fi frameworks. (Wi-Fi can be more easily interfered with since it is a shared spectrum).
How Soon Will 5G Be Everywhere?
Currently, many mobile network operators (MNOs) simply don’t have the infrastructure in place to support 5G applications. This type of use will require large amounts of network nodes organised in a dense formation.
It is more likely that first wave adoption will be fixed wireless access use, such as home and enterprise connectivity. As the network grows, we can expect to see more uptake of IoT machine-type applications, followed by high-speed mobile use.
The shift certainly won’t take place overnight, but with many major cities already implementing 5G infrastructure mass market adoption is expected to take place around 2022*.
*https://www.raconteur.net/technology/5g/4g-vs-5g-mobile-technology/
How can Robustel help me with my 5G adoption planning?
The first step would be to talk to one our many knowledgeable IoT Solutions architects, who will get to understand your specific issues and path to market before recommending a solution. Just because we have 5G routers available doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best course of action for you, our team will work with you closely to find a Robustel product and regional partner that will help suit your specific needs.
To get in touch with Robustel and arrange a discussion with one of our solutions architects contact us today - https://www.robustel.com/contact-us/
If you are already using Robustel devices you can set-up a free RCMS account by clicking here