5G is Becoming a Reality

5G, the fifth generation of wireless networking technology, is the latest generation of cellular mobile communications. 5G will be able to surpass 4G LTE by targeting on high data rate, reducing latency, reducing cost, and increasing system capacity. As 4G can maximally reach its speed to 16.9 megabits per second (Mbps), 5G is able to deliver in Gigabit speeds (>1Gbps). Latency is the time interval between the stimulation and response. 5G targets on lowering latency from 9 milliseconds to 1 millisecond. The reduced latency will improve users experience to a large extent when they explore the virtual world. Moreover, since 5G has relatively low latency, it makes remote control of heavy machinery possible. 5G isn’t all about speed. It’s also about standard. Today’s networks rely on 200-foot towers to blanket large areas with signal. 5G will add more cell sites to cover more smaller areas, which enables multiple networks and devices to be connected at once. That’s the best part of 5G because it will not only connect people but also everything around. In the future, our cars will communicate with other vehicles about road conditions and helpful information on the road. If a car brakes up quickly in front of you, your car can detect that immediately and then brake as well.  5G will make billions of new connections possible within various industries such as autos, healthcare, manufacturing and distribution. The security of 5G might be a major concern of the public. A lot of emerging technologies are following the fast development of 5G to secure it. For example, Smart homes will require stronger methods of authentication, such as bio-metric identification. Other security installations such as firewall are necessary as well to protect our experience under the high-speed network.

When it comes to when can the 5G network officially meet the public, “it has been nearly a decade in the making, but 5G is finally becoming a reality. Carriers started rolling out fixed 5G to select cities in 2018, and mobile 5G will start making appearances in cities around the U.S. in 2019, with much more comprehensive roll-outs expected in 2020” (Fortune). The incoming 5G era will definitely be a big hype to the world.

Sources:

https://www.sdxcentral.com/5g/definitions/top-5g-security-challenges/

http://fortune.com/2018/10/08/what-is-5g/