We are all very familiar with 3G and 4G by this point as it has already become an integral part of our modern way of living, keeping us all connected to one another worldwide 24/7. So its understandable that when talking about 5G people just see it as the next G and it not being anything special beyond slightly faster speed. However that could not be further from the truth as 5G is up to 100x faster than 4G, and I’m sure you will all agree that this is a significant improvement!
But its more than just faster connectivity speeds, 5G will also provide ultra-low latency and greater bandwidth. What does that mean for you ? well for your personal usage it means streaming content such as video calls to family and friends will have no noticeable delay in video or sound making it as though they were sat in the room with you. You also don’t have to be so concerned about competition when wanting to share or get data at large events (such as sports events, musical concerts and festivals etc.).
But what does this mean for industry?
With the improved network speeds and increased bandwidth 5G provides a much more robust and reliable network that industry can rely on for their mission critical applications. 5G will help improve fleet tracking allowing for 24/7 live status tracking of goods such as chemicals or medical supplies which need to be stored at specific temperatures for the duration of transit. The improved data throughput also allows for large data packets to be transferred seemingly instantaneously (downloading GB data files in minutes!) which can allow for large data bundles to be streamed continuously without issue. Or potentially more relevant in our modern world of remote working it will enable remote workers to reliably and quickly connect to cloud platforms and email services wherever they may be, if that takes the form of a home office or out at a public space 5G will enable them to perform their day-to-day tasks without obstacle.
To wrap up the blog we will quickly try and explain why 5G networks provides such greater speeds and reliability compared to the current 4G network. 5G just like its predecessors uses cellular technology however it takes advantage of millimetre wave 24GHz to 54 GHz, and can be implemented in 3 types of band (low band, mid band or high band). Low band 5G uses similar frequency ranges as 4G and thus provides similar performance and range, mid band 5G uses microwaves of 1.7GHz – 4.7GHz providing speeds of 100-900Mbit/s and each cell tower providing service up to several kilometres in radius. High Band is much shorter distance due to using millimetre wave, utilising 24GHz – 47GHz (which is near the bottom of the millimetre wave band so there is potential to grow and use higher frequencies in future) however due to the short range nature of this technology they will be used in dense urban environments and areas where large crowds congregate like sports stadiums and convention centres.
Have industrial requirements for 5G devices and connectivity? Contact Gateway today via any of the below methods for more information and discussion regarding your requirements!