Similar to 4G, which refers to the Fourth Generation standard for mobile\/cellular communications networking, 5G represents the evolution \u2013 the next generation \u2013 along that continuum, as reflected in Figure 1.<\/p>\n

$\"\"$

Figure 1: Evolution of GSM technology – 2G to 5G (Source: ICT Pulse)<\/p><\/div>\n

However, it is emphasised that at the time of writing, the requirements and specifications that will comprise the 5G standard have not yet been finalised and formally adopted. As a result, none of the phones on the market today are 5G-compatible. Currently many firms around the world, including Ericsson, Huawei, Intel, Nokia, and Samsung, to name a few, along with international organisations, such as the International Telecommunications Union and the European Commission, are all working on developing the standard and the associated technologies.<\/p>\n

What will 5G do?<\/h3>\n
Although the 5G standard has not yet been formalised, it is expected to be a significant progression from 4G. Further, it should support and facilitate some of the major developments that are emerging, such the move towards hyper-connectivity, such as through the Internet of Things and Machine-to Machine communication. As a result, and according to the Next Generation Mobile Networks<\/a>\u00a0and the GSM Association<\/a>, the 5G standard should fulfil the following requirements, which is not exhaustive:<\/p>\n
\n
$\"\"$ Tens of thousands of users in crowded areas, such as stadiums or open-air festivals, should each experience data rates of tens of megabits per second (Mbps) \u2013 50\u00a0Mbps is being proposed as the minimum<\/li>\n
In metropolitan areas, data rates of 100 Mbps should be experienced<\/li>\n
Many workers on the same office floor should simultaneously experience 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps)<\/li>\n
5G should be able to support several hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections for wireless sensors<\/li>\n
Its spectral efficiency (i.e. the use of the radio frequencies assigned) is significantly enhanced compared to 4G<\/li>\n
Signalling efficiency is enhanced compared to 4G<\/li>\n
Latency (i.e. the delay in transmissions) is significantly reduced compared to LTE<\/li>\n
999% network availability, including robustness against climatic events and guaranteed services at low energy consumption for critical infrastructure<\/li>\n
Virtually 100% network coverage<\/li>\n
Improved energy efficiency, with 90% reduction in network energy usage compared to 4G, and<\/li>\n
Facilitating up to ten years of battery life for low power, machine-type devices.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
How much progress has been made to date on 5G?<\/h3>\n
Although the standard has not yet been finalised, there is the ambitious goal to launch 5G by 2020. Accordingly, some firms are already piloting and implementing some aspects of the likely standard. Since 2017, in particular, many telecom firms worldwide, including LMT (Latvia), Turkcell (Turkey), Sri Lanka Telecom (Sri lanka), and Qualcomm (USA), have testing and implementing various aspects of 5G.<\/p>\n
Further, in South Korea during the recently concluded 2018 Winter Olympics, in Pyeongchang, Samsung and Intel technically collaborated with Korea\u2019s largest telecoms carrier, KT Corporation, to publicly trial 5G network service. At the Olympics, KT Corporation offered\u00a0four advanced visual technologies \u2013 sync view, interactive time slice, omni-point view and 360-degree virtual reality live broadcasting \u2013 enabling viewers and spectators to get a more vivid and immersive experience, which received rave reviews (Source: The Korea Times<\/a>).<\/p>\n
When might we expect 5G in the Caribbean?<\/h3>\n
Without a doubt, 5G in the Caribbean is several years out. As indicated earlier, not all of the major carriers in the regional have fully implemented 4G (ahem, Flow!); hence if they are currently challenged with 4G, deploying 5G is likely to be worse.<\/p>\n
The move from 4G or 3G to 5G is likely to require considerable upgrading of the existing infrastructure, which not only has cost implications, but also access to the expertise and resources to re-design the network and successfully implement it. Further, as currently occurs, even after a carrier has introduced 5G, it will not be ubiquitous across an entire country. There is still likely to be a mishmash of technologies and standards across a country: 5G in cities, with 4G and 3G the norm as you move away from the main population centres.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Image credit:\u00a0 geralt (Pixabay<\/a>);\u00a0 Wikipedia<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n
______________<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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