Understanding 5G and its Impact on Business

For a lot of people, 5G is still a new term but that does not mean that it is actually something new. It is quite a time that 5G has its place in merely more than discussions and speculations. A lot of work has been done in terms of research, its application and in some more areas.

There are some countries who are actually even using it to some extent. But as far as its widespread usage is concerned, we still have a long way to go. But one thing is for sure that just like any other new technology, 5G will also open new aspects and ample opportunities in the long run. Let us now understand How will 5G impact business?

If we look at an analysis by Mobile Industry Trade Organization, they say that year 2020 will be the turning point for 5G technology, as people and industries will start taking it more seriously as its application will start to become a reality. They predict that widespread usage of 5G will be possible only till 2025 but it is important to note that with 5G around the impact of 4G is nowhere near decreasing. The biggest reason is that at present maximum global connections are dominated by 4G technology and it is still doing great.

In fact, the same analysis also says that the 4G connections will increase by 56% till 2025. So, the service providers will really need a strong reason to convince their customers to switch to 5G technology.

How will 5G impact business?

If we look at the requirement of businesses these days, the foremost thing needed is speed. So let us see what changes will 5g bring if it is adopted by the businesses. The 5g networks are capable of giving:

• Much more capacity
• Lower latency
• Much more fast upload and download speeds

1. Lower the Latency, lower the response time and higher the opportunity, but what will mean to the businesses. Now, lower the response time, that means higher the connectivity. Videos can be streamed without any lag and at much faster rates. It will also help in building a whole new virtual world which can be used by the businesses to give a real-like feel to their customers, which will in return help them in making better and by far accurate decisions. Moreover, it will give a boost to 3D technology too.
2. More Connectivity: We all are aware of the Internet of Things (IoT), 5G is here to make it a reality, as we mentioned above that 5G is all about higher connectivity, it is where its role in IoT comes in play. Experts say that 5G can connect devices 500 times more than 4G because with 4G we at most communicate through our smartphones but connectivity with 5G means that devices and machines can communicate within themselves. To help you understand this better, let us take an example of emergency responders. They still take a maximum of 30 minutes even in an emergency situation but with 5G the emergency responders can reroute the traffic and find the shortest path both in terms of time and distance. Hence, they will take much less time than what they take now.
3. Better use of Spectrum: With 4G technology, there is already a lot of pressure on the spectrum, which sometimes leads to breakdown. With 5G a number of unique devices can be connected within the same spectrum that means no extra burden on the spectrum with a promise of no-breakdown. 
4. Better Download Speed: let us understand it this way, you are sitting in a crowded hall and everyone wants to leave, if everyone wants to leave at the same times from 2-3 doors, you will still feel congestion and slow down just like a 4G network, but with 5G it’s like having your own exit door attached to your seat. 5G networks can give you a download speed of about 10Gbps that means you can easily download an HD movie within 20-30 seconds.

Challenges Ahead

• The road to the adoption of 5G technology is no cakewalk. A lot has to be done to convince the customers and give them enough reasons to switch to 5G technology.
• A study has shown that big tech giant countries like America, Japan and other European countries are happy with their experience of using 4G technology. 
• On the other hand, some enterprises are also susceptible to what else and what more 5G can give and what is not given by 4G. 
• The other important aspect of slow turning towards 5G is its establishment cost, there is no denying that the hardware required for 5G is way more expensive than 4G.

“How will 5G impact business?” Is a million-dollar question and its answer is not a very simple one, it has a number of layers. But we are living in a progressive society where stagnation or looking back is never an option. It is better that we move forward while addressing concerns of all those at stake along with its impact on the environment as well.