Internet has become an essential part of our life and we work with it every day. Today, we already have many connected devices: computers, telephones, cars, televisions, but soon we will also see connected: our refrigerator, the kitchen cupboard, even the clothes we are wearing. Our whole environment will be connected to the network. In addition, we demand an increasingly faster, efficient and universal connection. We must have network availability anywhere and at any time. So, telecommunication companies have to satisfy this need.
If we want to have connection anywhere and at any time, wireless networks are essential. In this article we will talk about the so-called 5G. When we talk about wireless networks, the “G” means generation. Just like its predecessors, 3G and 4G. 5G is a sort of wireless connection designed to satisfy the need of a future, where billions of devices will be connected to the network. This new reality demands a new protocol. This will be 5G. But…
What is exactly 5G?
Wireless technology started with 1G. In the 90’s we met 2G, the time, when devices allowed us to send SMS. Perhaps you have heard more about 3G, which allowed us not only to make calls and send SMS, but also to surf internet. 4G, broadly, came to improve the advantages of 3G, highlighting the speed, when surfing the Net.
But the evolution did not stop there, 4G added the LTE (Long Term Evolution), which made it even faster …
5G arrives in order to support a massive connection of devices, providing reliability and new features in navigation, keeping bandwidth from collapse. This new generation will be built on a 4G LTE basis.
What is new?
5G will enable us to confront the future …
5G will still allow us to make calls, send messages and surf internet. So far, nothing is new. The difference is that it will be faster. For practical purposes, to give an example, downloading and uploading heavy files, in Ultra HD format or 3D videos, will no longer be a problem.
In addition to the increasing speed, 5G will be able to support millions of devices connected at the same time.
How fast will it be?
Currently, the transmission speed of the 4G LTE reaches up to a gigabit per second. 5G will multiply this number by 10, allowing a download speed of up to 10 gigabits per second.
When can we start using 5G?
For almost a year already, some companies have been making tests in several cities, mainly in the United States. Other companies are doing internal testing inside their facilities. However, predictions talk about a global availability of 5G, starting in 2020.
Some incredible stuff that 5G allows us
Autonomous vehicles
5G networks will be prepared to respond fast enough to coordinate autonomous vehicles.
We could imagine roads without traffic lights, for example. Once all vehicles have cameras and sensors integrated, they can capture videos continuously and thus move without traffic lights or provide accurate information of what happened in an accident, etc.
Videoconferences
5G will allow us to communicate in a more visual way. We can talk from anywhere, with anyone, wherever they are, through such clear videos that it will seem as we are next to them.
Telemedicine
Remote medicine assistance will be a reality thanks to 5G, which will allow doctors to perform an intervention or practice surgery remotely. Yes, you have read right; Delays in connecting with 5G are so tiny that doctors can use robots to operate a person that can be thousands of miles away. They will not even have to be in a hospital or medical center.
In short, these and other unimaginable applications will come to us in the next few years. We need to be attentive and take advantage of the opportunities that 5G will offer to us, in order, to improve our lives and our communities.
Welcome to the future!
