Lucas Jiang, the GM at TP-Link MEA speaks about the opportunities and challenges involved with the adoption of 5G technology
Is 5G really ready for mass adoption?
In this digital era, the need for high-speed internet connection has become one of the basic requirements for people. 5G is the most awaited and popular technical upgrade by people worldwide. It will usher in richer and better user experience and will transform the face of many industries with a super high speed of internet and will result in mobile traffic boom. 5G is the future.
We are ready to roll it out for the mass adoption in phases and gradually launch this next-generation technology and make it accessible to everyone. It must be considered into accounts that for mass adoption of 5G, we all will require the 5G enable devices as 4G devices will be passé phenomenon. Thus, we need to be prepared and keep into account many important aspects into consideration while going for 5G mass adoption. It still has some time left for 5G to become mainstream.
What benefits does 5G bring along for end-users?
5G is a better, faster and stronger network, the next-generation technology of mobile internet connectivity promising much faster data download and upload speeds, wider coverage, and more stable connections. Whatever we do now with our smartphones, we will be able to do it much faster and better. No more waiting for buffering videos or no more frustrating waits for a web page to load.
With a data rate of up to 10 Gbps, 5G will bring 10 times to 100 times improvement over the existing 4G LTE technology 5G will revolutionize our world. This will also make online gaming and general 8K/4K video streaming is possible at blazing speeds and whole new exciting experience. 5G has three major benefits which are faster data transfers, better coverage for IoT and stronger reliability which will support critical applications with a unified ultra-robust network.
How will 5G revolutionise Industry 4.0, Smart Cities and Automation?
5G technology will revolutionise the Industry 4.0, smart cities and automation because it is an ecosystem for technology and business innovation with a massive portfolio of applications and their equally widespread requirements such as mobility, high reliability, ultra-low latency, and high bandwidth.
The foundation for the development of the 5G mobile network was not merely to expand the broadband capabilities of mobile networks, but unlike the other communications technology generations like 2G, 3G, and 4G LTE, the 5G will also provide advanced wireless connectivity for a wide variety of vertical industries, such as manufacturing, automotive and agricultural sectors. Where 2G networks were aimed for voice, 3G for voice and data, 4G for broadband proficiencies, the 5G network is the fifth generation specifically for wireless communications technology.
5G will empower innovative usages and will have great dependability. It will have Enhanced Mobile Broadband, Massive Machine-Type Communications, Ultra-reliable and low latency (URLLC) communications which will accelerate and play an important role in enabling automation in vertical domains and also contribute in smart cities and automation.
What are the key security concerns surrounding 5G?
5G is a brand new technical upgradation all set to roll out in the market to revolutionize our experience of the internet and communications. But it is obvious that this fifth-generation network alike the other networks i.e. 2G, 3G, and 4G is exposed to some key security concerns such as a heightened risk of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks and proximity service (ProSe) intrusions.
The wide distribution of decentralized, small-cell networks 5G IoT requires will make it a challenge to keep each system updated and capable of meeting rapidly evolving cyber-attacks also the higher bandwidth will create more potential security risks. Another threat to 5G networks is the storage of a large amount of data in the cloud rather than on secure local servers. The data gathered by IoT devices contribute to a wide attack surface. Experts warn that the proliferation of data traffic and mobile IoT connectivity comes with a significant amount of risk that must be addressed by the telecom industry.
The problem of authentication will be also an obvious threat to security and privacy concerns given the number of devices gathering data in massive IoT networks like connected city infrastructures, offices, and homes. Addressing these concerns will require forward-thinking designs that anticipate and prepare for threats and build effective security features into the design of 5G networks.
What sort of challenges can companies face when deploying 5G services and networks?
One of the basic and most obvious challenges faced by the companies to deploy the 5G service and network is the 5G enable devices as most manufacturers are yet to release 5G-compatible phones, tablets, and other devices. Apart from this, it is an expensive affair considering the spectrum licensing, the installation of the necessary hardware and successful testing of the network for public use. There are also operational complexities associated with the deployment of 5G as not all the professionals are aware of the features, threats, and concerns of the fifth-generation network. It will take some time to solve these challenges successfully.
What sort of revenue growth opportunity does 5G represent today?
In recent times, we have seen the power of the mobile and the internet and how it has revolutionized every spare of all the industries. We are living in a digital age and the internet has become the catalyst for technical evolution. The internet has virtually transformed the industry overnight. The fifth-generation mobile network will introduce us to a more technically advanced and high-speed internet connection which is expected to be the next big leap in mobile broadband.
The fifth-generation network is all set to play an important determining factor for mobile-dependent users fully participating in the global digital economy as smartphones and other wireless-enabled devices become the prominent gateway to the internet for certain populations. The fifth-generation will represent increased economic opportunity through improved access to social services, such as education, health care, energy, transportation, employment, and all the other sectors.
5G networks will be widely available in upcoming times, affordable, and able to support emerging technologies the 5G network will allow operators to explore new business models and capture new revenue streams through addressing industry digitization.
