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What is the impact of 5G technology for companies?

Currently present in countries such as the United States and South Korea, 5G mobile connection technology will soon arrive in Brazil. Although there is no set date for its launch, the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) has already stated that it intends to hold the 5G frequency auction for telecommunication operators in 2020.

5G technology promises to bring big changes to the national market. In addition to a connection that is faster than the current 4G, it will create an ecosystem focused on the multi-connection of people, applications and equipment, and will focus mainly on expanding access to the Internet of Things.

In this article we will explain what the concept of 5G is and show examples of how this technology will impact the corporate world in many different segments. Take a look!

What exactly is 5G technology?

The 4G connection already offers significant speed for most common and everyday applications. But, 5G technology will offer a whole new universe of possibilities, with a degree of reliability that has never been experienced before.

5G promises broader and more efficient coverage than its predecessors, with up to 10 times faster data upload and download speeds than 4G. Not to mention that it will allow the connection of more devices to the internet at the same time. But, the biggest news is the lower latency — basically the “reaction time” of telecommunications — which will enable the connectivity of cars, homes, appliances and more.

The proposal of the 5G network is to create the necessary structure for the Internet of Things to become a reality. That is, that thousands of objects can be connected to each other, eliminating the need for human commands. A good example of this is the smart grid for the distribution and transmission of electricity.

How fast will the 5G frequency be?

Estimates are that 5G technology, at its maximum potential, will reach a download speed of 10 gigabits per second. This would be a 10-fold increase over the 4G network, which reaches 1 gigabit per second. To better exemplify how this will work, the Wall Street Journal made a simulation, in which it took around 20 seconds to download a playlist of 1 hour on Spotify with 4G, whereas with 5G this time would be reduced to 0.6 seconds.

Likewise, the latency, or response time between the time of the user making a request and the network responding, will also be lower. The goal is for this time to be 1 millisecond, which will be essential for communicating with objects, such as autonomous cars and also for performing remote surgery.

What will 5G technology allow us to do?

As we previously stated, the connection between different kinds of devices, objects and people will be the main benefit of 5G. So, because of this, some great innovations are expected to apear in the coming years. Such things as doctors controlling surgical robots remotely by cell phone or some other device, drones on rescue missions, traffic management systems, machines connected to machines, to mention just a few.

The great strength of the 5g network will be technological innovation. It is believed that most of the applications that will use 5G have not even been thought of yet, such are the possibilities. The reliability of this new technology will revolutionize and accelerate the adoption of the digital world by businesses.

A survey conducted by Qualcomm indicates that more than 80% of respondents believe that 5G will increase productivity on an unprecedented scale. It will create markets and industries, help small businesses grow and make companies increasingly global and competitive.

When will 5G be available in Brazil?

The Global 5G Event will be a 5G frequency acquisition auction scheduled to take place in 2020, but no date has been set yet. The proposal is for it to reach major capitals in 2021. The 3.5 Ghz band will probably be used as a complement to the 2.3 Ghz band. Initially, the frequency with greater capacity and less reach will be sought after, which is why the focus will firstly be on large urban centers.

However, due to the flexible infrastructure, it is very likely that in a few years this technology will reach most of the Brazilian territory. It may be important to add that, as aspects related to this network are still under discussion at the moment, the recommendation is to follow the government websites of the Ministry of Science and Technology and Anatel to monitor the progress of this process.

Which business areas will be most impacted in Brazil?

The study carried out by the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communications, in partnership with BNDES and CNPQ, entitled “the National Internet of Things Plan”, predicts that the impact of 5G will be primarily in 4 areas: agribusiness, smart cities, industry and health. Here are some likely examples.

Logistics

5G technology will make it possible to plan and monitor transport routes in real time, which will provide more security and reliability. Smart cities will make it even easier to predict or change routes due to accidents or congestion.

Health

In the healthcare area, it will be possible to monitor and operate on patients remotely, which will open up several possibilities for the sector, such as: innovations in the pharmaceutical industry, creation of new tests, monitoring applications and more personalized healthcare plans.

Industry

The arrival of 5G technology will also bring opportunities for industries related to automation. Working in line with the innovations of Industry 4.0, a veritable explosion of services, processes and jobs is expected.

Retail

The use of virtual reality and cloud computing will generate immersive experiences in products and services at a distance, in addition to creating totally innovative sales channels connected to the consumer. An example of this is the Amazon Go store, where customers don’t have to go through checkouts to pay for products.

Telephony

We already discussed that the 5G network will bring us up to 10 times the speed of data upload and download. As a result of this, one other benefit of this technology is that video calling and conferencing will be more stable, increasing the level of professionalism. This will also impact the increase in the amount of remote work and will expand the possibilities of integration.

Research and business

The digital transformations that will come with 5G technology will impact and influence the future plans of many companies regarding the adoption of, and investment in new equipment. As well as this, it will influence research, mainly that which is carried out by Scientific and Technological Institutions (ICTs).

Therefore, companies need to plan for the arrival of 5G technology in 2020. The adoption of this network will start slowly, as happened with 3G and 4G. However, expectations are that it will grow even faster than its predecessors. 5G technology is a reflection of what the world expects from business: speed and quality.

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