The implications of 5G for business

While the ongoing pandemic has dominated the headlines for most of 2020, there are still opportunities to be had. Businesses now face an urgent need to innovate quickly to become more adaptable to change and reduce risk. In these respects, COVID-19 has undoubtedly been an urgent wakeup call.

In light of stay-at-home mandates and other restrictions, the increasing importance of mobile technologies as critical enablers of remote work cannot be underestimated. 5G networks are gradually being rolled out globally, and they’re poised to transform remote work and connected services.

What is 5G?

5G is the fifth generation of mobile networking technologies and the successor to the current 4G standard. Its most oft-cited benefits are improved performance and lower latency, but it can do far more than just improve mobile network connections. Its greater bandwidth and new features can empower groundbreaking solutions ranging from highly automated manufacturing to elevated virtual and augmented reality experiences.

5G is about connecting things everywhere reliably and without lag, so that people and businesses can understand and manage everyday tasks in real time. Here are other notable benefits of using 5G technology:

1. Better performance

Initially, mobile operators will start using 5G networks to boost the capacity of their existing 4G networks, so end users might not notice a major performance boost at first. However, 5G can potentially offer maximum speeds up to 20 times higher than 4G LTE.

Real-world speeds are likely to be substantially slower than these theoretical maximums, but still more than fast enough to power bandwidth-hungry applications like augmented and virtual reality and ultra-high-definition video conferencing.

2. Improved flexibility

One of the most important business implications of 5G is its ability to power private networks. By contrast, 4G and prior services are public and provided only by telecoms operators. This presents potential security, privacy, and compliance issues, while also reducing performance and flexibility.

5G will let enterprise customers create their own private networks, either by purchasing their own infrastructure or by contracting operational support out to a 5G network operator. These private networks will likely become the preferred choice in industrial, agricultural, and logistics environments, where the limited range and bandwidth of conventional wireless networks isn’t enough to provide full coverage.

3. Edge computing

Despite all the emphasis on cloud computing in recent years, there are some situations where it’s better to process data locally. For example, in the case of autonomous vehicles, data needs to be processed in milliseconds, and there’s no time to upload it to the cloud for processing remotely. Highly sensitive data might also need to be stored and processed locally to avoid it being fed through a third party or across a public connection.

5G is inextricably linked with edge computing, which takes data processing back to the source so it can be carried out in real time. With its far greater capacity and performance and lower latency rates, 5G networks are much better equipped to power things like smart factories and other environments where every millisecond matters.

4. Internet of Things

In addition to its ultra-low latency and high performance, 5G also provides a vastly improved capacity thanks to its larger radio frequency spectrum. As such, 5G should support up to 100 times the amount of traffic than 4G.

These advantages have profound implications for internet-connected smart devices. 5G will drive the adoption of things like drones, wearable technologies, and any other systems that can benefit from having a fast, reliable, and constant internet connection. For businesses, that means connecting a whole range of new devices which can revolutionize everything from entertainment to manufacturing to healthcare.

HERO Managed Services helps businesses get a better return on their tech investments with dependable IT support and tailored solutions that align with your priorities. Contact us today to schedule your free IT consultation.