How 5G will accelerate innovation

When 5G truly becomes ubiquitous, it will herald a new era. It will enable innovative use cases that have been not been possible today due to limited bandwidth. 5G will completely change the way we have thought of connectivity, and will create new possibilities that will be limited only by imagination. With data transfer rates which some say is 100x more than 4G, 5G can help enterprises enable applications that require high bandwidth. Experts predict that 5G will be a platform that will encourage the growth of innovative business models.

Consider the healthcare sector. Wearables can be used to predict and monitor the health of patients in real-time in homes. Before a person gets sick or has the likelihood of being sick, innovative models in telemedicine can be explored to help a person prevent the illness with close monitoring. 5G can help enterprises deliver the full potential of telemedicine.

5G will also enable advancement for the concept of Industry 4.0. Enabled by 5G, sensors embedded in machines will communicate in real-time their health status to companies. This will help firms conduct the required scheduled maintenance in a proactive manner and prevent breakdowns. In a global environment, 5G will help companies have real-time information on inventory which can help companies take their efficiencies to a different level. For the manufacturing sector, 5G offers several benefits. From fully enabling the concept of digital twins to creating new scenarios for human-robot collaboration to using augmented or virtual reality for effective training and troubleshooting of potential machine-related issues, the sky is the limit.

For the automotive sector, 5G will make autonomous cars a reality. This will also herald a new era of safety and anti-collision systems which will make the world a safer place. Thousands of lives are lost everywhere in the world due to accidents. In the world of 5G, AI enabled onboard sensors which receive their signals from a central cloud, can give vehicles the capability to sense and stop in case of a probable accident. The reduced latency of 5G can make the world accident free, as even milliseconds of delay in taking a decision to apply brakes can lead to accidents.

In the banking industry, AI-enabled fraud detection systems powered by 5G can instantly detect and prevent fraudulent activities in real-time. The greatest potential lies in media and entertainment, where 5G can enable streaming of live sporting events to create new interactive experiences.

In case of the insurance sector, the possibilities are immense. For example, drones can immediately be dispatched to your site, in case of any damage to your car or vehicle. Drones can also be dispatched to sites where there is a disaster. Real time assessment of damages can be possible, and claims can be settled very quickly.

5G in action

5G is not a futuristic technology. It is here right now. Let us look at some interesting use cases:

1. Alba Iulia Smart City: The municipality of Alba Iulia (Romania) is using 5G for primarily two focus areas: smart mobility and energy. Some of the primary use cases include smart parking, smart transportation, intelligent lighting systems, waste management and environmental monitoring.
2. Virgin Trains: In London, Virgin Trains has been testing 5G powered Wi-Fi on its trains. The company claims that the speeds are up to ten times faster than the current on-board Wi-Fi
3. Optus Stadium: In Australia, the Optus Stadium provides visitors with access to different camera angles in real-time, ultra-high definition video from their smartphones, in addition to information overlays to enhance the viewing experience.

For a country like India, the impact of 5G can be game changing. Imagine what the Internet could do to our software services industry. Now imagine the same impact to other sectors with no restrictions in bandwidth. With 5G, India can become the hub for every possible service.  Being a large country with huge manpower, we can easily become the global hub for providing virtual telemedicine services, virtual industrial machine services, and virtual education. With our excellent strengths in software, India has the potential to become a global leader in virtual services.  With 5G, it is time to re-imagine everything! The sky is the limit!