5G is the buzzword of the moment and it's not surprising why. According to Qualcomm, it is expected to create 22 million new jobs and generate a global economic gain of $12.3 billion by 2035. As its name implies, 5G is the fifth generation of networks. Mobile, promising more speed and lower latency. Beyond the performance benefits, it is also intended to support Industry 4.0, where everything is connected, processed and digitized. However, 5G is currently hard to pin down and its full arrival is still some way off, but one thing is certain, it will have an impact on your business. 5 Who? While the UK was a disappointing 54th to launch 4G in the global race, this will be the first wave of countries to adopt a new network technology. There are three 5G bands: sub 1 GHz (cheap and offers wide coverage, but slower speeds) 3.4-3.8 GHz (main frequency layer) and > 6 GHz (high bandwidth with low latency). On some bands, speeds go beyond 1 Gb/s. Major networks including EE, Three, Vodafone and O2 have started initial 5G rollouts in high-traffic areas. Vodafone recently completed a live trial after winning the largest block of frequencies in the Ofcom 5G auction at Birmingham New Street tube station, creating the first 5G train station in the UK. At this year's Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, every smartphone manufacturer unveiled a new 5G device. However, it will only be in 2020, at least before the start of the 5G revolution, and its probable urban centers, where all the tests have been carried out so far, will benefit first. After saying, the race for 5G may wind down as it requires broad government approval. Not to mention the fact that the United States is still trying to prevent Huawei, the Chinese provider of broadband telecommunications systems, fears it will help China conduct espionage or cyber-bottling. It appears that the UK thinks this risk can be mitigated without banning Huawei from the 5G network, according to the latest news. So it's hard to tell when exactly UK carriers will benefit from the 5G network, but you can be sure 39 is coming. (Image: © Image Credit: TeroVesalainen / Pixabay) Understanding the Benefits to the Business There is a lot of talk about 5G as a general technology, but less about how it is targeted at businesses. Initially, it will certainly improve the remote work and collaboration experience. Today, more than 50% of employees work at least 2,5 days a week away from their main office, which can provide business flexibility, improve schedules and reduce staff turnover, but also make it difficult to connect, share and mobilize teams. Enter 5G. Network-related tasks, such as online sales or sharing large files in the cloud, will be faster and more efficient, even on mobile devices without the need to connect to WiFi, giving businesses productivity gains. Staff morale huge and rising. After all, nothing is more frustrating than a slow internet connection. In addition to connecting people, 5G will connect things, greatly expanding the capabilities and application of IoT, which requires better and faster connectivity. In fact, 5G will enable device-to-device communications for a million devices per square kilometer. This opens up great opportunities for IoT innovation and its commercial use: driverless cars, drones, artificial intelligence, robotics, and remote-controlled machines. , and virtual and augmented reality: offering companies at the forefront of creating and using such technologies a competitive advantage. Vodafone's 5G connected crane offers a very clever example of what is possible, allowing one operator to remotely control the crane (or even multiple cranes in different locations). This 5G-enabled teleoperation solution could transform the construction industry and beyond by increasing site security and reducing downtime. See your 5G roadmap For any new technology, it pays to be fully prepared and the people who benefit from it will have a competitive advantage. All businesses, regardless of size or industry, need to think about the benefits of 5G for themselves and their customers. Before you begin, it is important to clearly define the main areas of investment to prepare your business for the arrival of 5G. Knowing how you want to use 5G is much more useful than adopting this technology from scratch. Consider appointing an internal person or team to lead the project, collaborating with external experts as appropriate. Senior representatives from different departments should also be encouraged to ask to help identify current dams and potential areas for innovation. Future-proofing your network infrastructure is also essential for any 5G adopter. If the access network connected to 5G is of poor quality, all you have to do is move the bottleneck. If you haven't already, consider moving to a virtual network (the process of consolidating physical hardware into a single software entity), which will be more seamless, dynamic, and flexible. Image Credit: Shutterstock (Image: © Shutterstock) Changing threat landscape The attributes that make 5G so valuable create new cybersecurity risks. A larger attack surface, with more devices connected to the network and transferring files to it, opens up vulnerabilities. As the evolving threat landscape becomes clearer as the full deployment of 5G boundaries approaches, its important security protocols do not negate productivity gains. Companies are eager to slow down or prevent authorized access. With the growth of BYOD and remote work, business leaders are aware of the risks associated with a fuzzy security perimeter. However, 5G poses new security concerns as hybrid computing becomes the norm and combines the risks of endpoint computing with those of cloud computing. In response to these concerns, the UK government's 5G testbeds focus on the principle of "security by design", which states that 5G networks, software and applications are designed with the basic security and flexibility to adapt to evolving threats. A trustless security model is considered the safest way to mitigate the risk factors associated with 5G networks. Zero trust-based security is data-centric, and every access request is verified, validated, and authenticated. For example, 5G devices can recognize sensitive documents accessed on the go while an employee is traveling, and the virtual network can temporarily block access until the user is at a location. appropriate to access these documents. While many people will enjoy 5G in the right way, others will go out of their way to undermine it. Businesses need to keep this in mind when adopting 5G, or any new technology, and adapt their security protocols accordingly, to stay protected.