This past Thursday, we participated in a conversation about 5G at the invitation of our partners at CTIA. They work to keep us informed on what's happening in the rapidly advancing world of tech. CTIA convened what turned out to be a robust discussion on the current state of tech progression. We participated via livestream video as panelists talked about spectrum, 5G, broadband, small cells and a lot more. This discussion was moderated by Mike Dano, editor-in-chief at Fierce Wireless along with two guests, Asha Keddy, Vice President and General Manager of Next Generation and Standards at Intel Corporation, Scott Bergman, Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs at CTIA.
We have been living in the world of 4G for years now, and it’s time for us to step into a new world with 5G. But what exactly is 5G and what can it do? Well, 5G is next generation technology that connects everything and everybody. 5G can be used for many different things. For example, the current buzz in healthcare; think about how electronic medical records capture and transfer data and information. Have you noticed lately what that’s like in your doctor’s office for a visit? Smart Cities is the hot trend right now. Exploring how we increase internet access in densely populated areas by stretching bandwidth for faster access. The discussion even included 8K videos, the highest ultra-high definition television resolution. China’s been focused and leading in this area. Other countries are exploring different ways of using 5G. The United States has recently rolled out fixed wireless, which provides broadband internet access to a single place without the need for phone and cable lines, but mobile wireless will be released by the end of this year.
An important topic that comes up when discussing 5G is spectrum. There are different types of spectrum and the panel talked about high-band, mid-band and low-band, and how each of these are used differently. Low-band is used for long range, sensors, data electricity and far reaching transmission. With this a plane could be flown and be more aware of objects in its vicinity. High-band allows for more data accessibility, and mid-band allows for more harmonization with 5G (that’s a whole conversation for another time). A combination of the three can also be used depending on what you’re doing.
The World Radio Conference is held every four years. It’s due to be take place next year. This is where “techies” convene to discuss the many different uses of broadband, internet, bandwidth, spectrum, and whatever else is new in electronic communication. Today, I can’t begin to imagine what the conversation will look like then. Will we still be talking about the 5G effect? Time will tell and we here at NOBCO will continue to share what we learn along the way.
