What 5G is and how it will change our lives

Analysis of what 5G is and how it will change our lives, with Zoraida Frías, PhD in Communications Technologies and Systems from the Polytechnic University of Madrid; and Juan Jung, Director of Public Policy at ASIET, as part of the cycle ‘Towards a people-centred digitalisation’.

5G is on everyone’s lips and it is already here, and it is here to stay, beyond the technological wars between China and the United States. This new mobile technology will increase connection speeds, minimise latency and multiply the number of connected devices. In other words: we will be connected to everything, all day long and in the shortest possible time. But what do we know about 5G and how will it change our lives?

The deployment of the fifth generation mobile network will change the way we communicate, multiply the capacity of information highways and enable everyday objects, from fridges to cars, to connect (to us and to each other) in real time. Their deployment represents a true technological revolution, enabling, for example, tele-assisted surgery, the deployment of new fleets of autonomous vehicles and the coordination of agricultural work through sensors installed at different points in a field of crops.

The most significant advance will come in terms of speed, as it will be possible to surf at up to 10 GBps, 10 times faster than the main fibre optic offers on the market. In addition, latency (network response time) could be reduced to 5 milliseconds, a period almost imperceptible to humans, allowing us to connect in near real time. This is particularly important, for example, to minimise the response time of an autonomous vehicle in order to improve the safety of both occupants and any surrounding pedestrians.

The advent of 5G technology in mobile networks will have a significant impact on business productivity and consequently on the economies of many countries, as the technologies become increasingly common and accessible. In general, they are found in virtually all Industry 4.0 enabling tools.

In addition, many technologies favour the connectivity of people as additional agents with differential contribution models to the system thanks to 5G, such as the major changes brought about by blockchain, the much more massive incorporation of aerial mobile robotics (drones) as part of the system or wearable technology.

The main challenges of the Digital Agenda for Latin America are the ubiquity of the Internet, technological convergence, high-speed networks, the digital economy, e-government and data analytics, as well as access to and use of ICTs. A Digital Single Market in Latin America should be set up as soon as possible in order to reduce digital barriers and create an area of greater economic efficiency. Governments should have an integrated vision of the digital ecosystem. If we do not, we run the risk of becoming consumers of products, applications and content generated outside the continent. This requires a convergent regulatory approach to bridge the existing digital divide in a cohesive manner.

Cycle of debates ‘Towards a people-centred digitalisation’.

This cycle aims to create a forum for debate on different aspects of digitalisation. The aim is for these talks to become a meeting point for experts, analysts and regulators to discuss how we can make the current digitisation process human-centred, to maximise the benefits and mitigate the risks.

Zoraida Frías holds a PhD in Communications Technologies and Systems from the Polytechnic University of Madrid and a Telecommunications Engineering degree from the University of Málaga. Since 2010 she is a member of the Information and Communication Technologies Group (GTIC) at the Polytechnic University of Madrid where she has collaborated with different research projects related to telecommunications regulation and public policies, both for the Administration and the private sector. She is an assistant professor at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and has been a visiting researcher at the University of Pennsylvania (USA), at the University of Cambridge (UK) and at the Technische Universität Berlin (Germany).

She is the author of several international articles and scientific-technical papers in the areas of telecommunications and the Internet. Her interests revolve around data-driven models, especially in relation to the deployment of next generation networks and radio spectrum management. A strong advocate of the power of technology to transform the world, she is an active contributor to the activities of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF Spain) and is passionate about technology and entrepreneurship.

phone mast rent