Download a 4K movie in three seconds! This is the big star of 5G according to the lazy mainstream media, which probably explains why the public isn't as enthusiastic about 5G as it should be. So 5G isn't about downloading movies fast? No, even if the attention to the incredible speeds of 5G is not a surprise. After all, 5G networks will bring speeds of about 1 Gbps. Compare that to the 4G LTE networks we currently have in the UK which offer actual speeds of around 20Mbps; 5G will be 100 times faster, and in the long term it should increase to 20 Gbit/s. However, this is only the 5G functionality of the 5B technology, which is only a small part of the story. To understand 5G, you need to know that 5G networks will be able to support up to one million devices per square kilometer via Massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC) and will also have Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC). . Jargon? Yes, but by being super fast, super dense, and allowing communication in real time and without latency, 5G will bring changes to the technological world that we can only imagine. Fortunately, we can already imagine many ... in other places that still download movies?
5G is really about the very high-speed wireless home. (Image credit: Jamie Carter)
1. High speed wireless broadband for the home.
The most misunderstood aspect of 5G is probably the fact that it is only for smartphones and mobile devices. It really isn't. 5G is for the home. Think of it as wireless, with speeds that are almost as fast or at least fast enough for everything you want to do online at home. In fact, some US 5G trials have focused almost exclusively on 5G-powered modems for homes; you place one in a window with a line of sight on a 5G mast, and with the help of a router, extend ultra-fast 1 Gbit/s WiFi to your home. That being said, we must not forget the mobile video revolution based on 5G technology. 4G has made it possible to watch TV and YouTube on a smartphone, but let's be honest, it's often not much fun. Web pages that take a long time to load, permanent buffering of videos, freezing of applications and stagnant and moving Instagram photo downloads... 4G can be a real headache. 5G will therefore likely bring instant and more reliable internet. That's the theory, anyway. However, the advent of 5G will likely usher in a new era of immersive real-time gaming and/or immersive VR experiences that will attempt to make the most of broadband (and likely buffering). The technology's capabilities are constantly in demand, and 5G won't change that.
5G telepresence and remote robotics are coming. (Image credit: Jamie Carter)
2. The touch internet.
The URLLC functionality of 5G is low latency. Latency is the time it takes to start, stop, and restart a communication, which you may feel every time you try to load a web page on a smartphone. On a 4G network, it takes at least 40 milliseconds, but 5G promises to reduce that to a single millisecond. Think about it; 5G could change everything we do online by making it instant. Cue the "internet touch". Defined as instant interactive communication, the touch-enabled Internet could enable a revolution in the industry, with robots capable of receiving instructions in real time, essentially allowing them to collaborate on complex tasks. In the healthcare sector, surgeons can view body and brain scans in real time, examine a patient remotely with the help of a telepresence unit, and even operate on patients remotely at the same time. Help from a surgical robot controlled through the internet.
5G means that CD-quality audio streaming becomes normal. (Image credit: Amazon)
3. Hi-Res Audio Everywhere.
Although the discussions about 5G are very much about video-based entertainment, a lot could change in the world of music. After all, why stick with iTunes' compressed MP3 and AAC files when uncompressed 24-bit/192kHz high-resolution music files like FLAC, WAV, and MQA music files are so easy to play over a network. 5G? Hi-Res Audio (HRA) is a lossless audio codec capable of reproducing the full range of sounds from recordings recorded from music sources higher than CD quality. The huge increase in bandwidth with 5G will popularize and standardize high-quality sound, which at the moment is a relatively small niche among audiophiles. However, Tidal, Deezer and Qobuz are already offering hi-res music, while Amazon is about to launch a hi-res audio streaming service. Spotify Hi-Fi also offers listeners lossless CD quality. Hopefully 5G phones will have unlimited data plans...
AR overlays for navigation, such as Skyline, will happen in real time with 5G. (Image credit: ViewRanger)
4. mixed reality
These planetary-style smartphone apps that overlay a map of stars and planets on the night sky are the future. No, it's not interstellar exploration, but instant real-time data overlays with 5G technology, well, everything. Although these planetarium apps integrate all your data and don't require real-time inputs and future augmented reality (AR) apps are unknown, 5G could provide better navigation, object recognition and even facial recognition in real time. Smartphones and smart glasses. Let's take another even simpler example. you've got a boiler that needs to be fixed, so instead of calling a heating engineer, you speak one on one through your smart glasses and they tell you exactly which buttons to Modify in real time to physically diagnose and fix the problem. It will give power. Whether in the scientific, medical, employee training, or advertising fields, you could benefit from an explosion of AR overlays. However, these immersive and rich "digital experiences" will also carry over to VR video, which could nonetheless be the "flagship app" of 5G. Real-time virtual reality isn't possible right now, but let's be honest: just how awesome are virtual reality headsets? They lack pixels - bad. Nothing seems real. Of course, what they need is not 4K, or even 8K, but probably 16K resolution, or multiple 4K video streams, and that's what 5G could deliver. In real time.
5G will support one million devices per square kilometer. (Image credit: Jamie Carter)