Smart Industry 2/2018

Business and industry have
been waiting for 5G to happen.
Up to 100 bn devices are
expected to be connected
through the fifth generation of mobile
communications, most of them
via IoT. With 1,000 times the data
capacity of today’s smartphone networks,
the latency-free, tactile Internet
promises a revolution, one which
will be especially felt in the field of
automation.
In fact, “5G” is just a marketing term
that covers a wide range of new mobile
technologies. Back in early 2012,
the standards committee of the International
Telecommunication Union
(ITU) – originally the International
Telegraph Union – called for a network
capacity of up to 20 gigabits. To
put that in context: while LTE can theoretically
achieve speeds of around
300 Mbps, in reality, we are not likely
to get more than around 42 Mbps;
standard 4G has real-world speeds
of just around 14 Mbps. 5G trials are
taking place today, with Verizon in
the US, for example, demonstrating
that its technology can achieve
30–50 times faster download speeds
than currently possible with 4G. That
would enable you to download a full
movie in around 15 seconds, versus
around 6 minutes on 4G.
Most telcos and other providers are
talking about 2020 as the likely date
for commercial availability of 5G, but
some seem intent on stealing a march
on the competition. While Chinese
manufacturer ZTE was the first handset
manufacturer to showcase a 5G
smartphone at GSMA Mobile World
Congress in 2017, Lenovo has eyes set
on 5G smartphone leadership, based
on chipsets provided by Qualcomm,
an American company.
Has the future already begun? And
will 5G really herald a new era, much
like the introduction of the Internet
itself more than a quarter of a century
ago?
One thing is clear: by using a much
wider range of frequencies in a more
flexible fashion, 5G has the potential
Game changer
5G will have a huge
impact on our everyday
lives, from parcel
deliveries to patient
records and finding a
lost dog or a space to
park your car.
to connect billions of mobile devices.
Most of them will not be smartphones
at all, but rather sensors and actuators
included in a plethora of IoT devices,
including automobiles, trains, and
planes.
Ready, set – go!
Engineers are already busy building
robots and entire production lines
with connection capabilities that rival
today’s fixed-line systems, only faster
and more securely. 5G is the first mobile
standard conceived expressly
with machine-to-machine (M2M) applications
in mind. Theoretically, at
least, this could prove a gigantic shot
in the arm for autonomous vehicles
and other systems, including “smart
factories.”
For telcos and providers, the most
important feature of 5G is its ability to
adapt more flexibly than ever before
to customer needs and demands. For
that reason, 5G was conceived from
the beginning as a software-defined
network, or SDN; one which can
M2M in Daily Life
Fire department
Beverage truck
Doctor tracking
patient records
Connected fire alarm
warns occupants
Patient measuring
blood pressure
Parking spaces
Fire alarm
Parcel butler
Customer waiting
for parcel
Delivery service
photo ©: fts-hennig.de
Dog owner
Lost dog
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