5G: The highly-anticipated tech trend is becoming a thing in 2019
09 January- 2019
After talking about it for years, 5G is finally here, although not accessible to everyone, yet.
5G is the new generation of 4G, which is what we currently use to surf the web, stream videos, and music, connect to social media and use apps on our mobile devices.
However, in addition to these applications, 5G offers new opportunities to enterprises and operators.
What is 5G?
Simply put, 5G is a Software Defined Network. While it won’t replace cables entirely, it may replace the need for them by largely operating on the cloud instead.
This new technology has been created years ago and has been talked up ever since. Yet, it’s estimated that even by 2025, the network will still lag behind 4G and 3G in terms of Global mobile connections.
Like previous generations, it will be rolled out to major cities first but will, for sure, take more time before there’s global coverage.
The main reason for that lies in both the cost and the super high frequency. The latter requires brand new infrastructure.
However, 5G will enable a higher internet capacity, faster response time and more personalized web experience. Moreover, it will provide hybrid and cloud applications ranging from machine learning to cloud-based graphics rendering for virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and gaming.
In fact, this technology was in the spotlight during the CES in Las Vegas this week. Major players in the telecom industry like Verizon, At&T, and Samsung already gave the audience an idea about the speed and the performance to expect. However, they made it clear that no one can use a mobile 5G network yet. Because no commercially available mobile devices actually support 5G as of yet. Only in the spring of this year will AT&T customers be able to buy a $500 5G mobile hotspot.
This being said, although it is technically ‘here’, we may still need to wait some time to finally see the tiny Icon on our mobile devices go from 4G LTE to 5G.
Source: Business Insider, Tom’s-guide, CES News
