5G Cellular Evolution: Why It Will be a Foundation for Smart Cities
By Glenn Laxdal, Chief Technology Officer, Ericsson
The power of connectivity is transforming all industries and forward-thinking cities.
This digital transformation is driving the next generation of wireless access—5G—targeting commercial availability around 2020. Just as 4G/LTE technology enabled the explosion of smartphones, mobile applications, and mobile commerce, the evolution to 5G will enable rapidly growing, diverse services for both human and machine communications.
Since 5G builds on licensed 4G/LTE, benefits for low-power IoT devices will begin as early as 2017.
According to Ericsson, over the next five years: Traffic volumes on cellular networks will be multiplied 1,000 times, and 100 times more devices will require connectivity.
Some applications will demand data rates 100 times the speeds that average networks currently deliver. Some will require near-zero latency or network delay. And the entire system will work to enable battery life of 10 years for low-power IoT devices.
The evolution to 5G will spur innovation, making cities more livable, secure, efficient, and responsive to citizens’ needs.
View the full post on AT&T’s Networking Exchange Blog.
