5G Networks

5G is the technology that has the potential to be the great enabler of applications dependent of the deployment of IoT networks and systems.  The multiband version of 5G to be deployed in the United States include low frequency bands that will have broader coverage and longer reach. The mmWave bands will offer higher capacity and gigabit performance.  The latter, however, will have difficulty penetrating walls and its reach will only be in the hundreds of meters.  All, however, will reduce latencies to single digit millisecond latencies.

5G can be expected to have the bandwidth to accommodate the massive connectivity and low latency required for smart factories. 5G systems will be able to breach the last mile problem to the home.  This is something Linksys is exploring with Qualcomm.   Autonomous vehicles to use the full sensing capabilities of smart cities to operate in a safe and fully autonomous manner by taking advantage of 5G’s high capacity and low latency. These are transformative applications that will drive new interconnect requirements and new intelligent components and environments.

Even as 5G is pursued aggressively, numerous research issues need to be addressed and optimized for specific application areas if these are to be deployed safely and economically.   5G needs to be simple for users to use.  5G should provide differentiated services across various dimensions such as throughput, latency, resilience, availability and costs per bit. This includes increased security, availability, resilience and delivery assurance for mission critical applications such as first responder services and healthcare.  5G must be able to do this while managing an increasing diversity and number of connected devices, along with being able to handle multi-modal data.  That poses challenges with respect to flexibility, dynamism, resource management, quality of service, manageability. To be truly successful, energy efficiency and battery life need to increased and appropriate interfaces and platforms must be developed for the rapid creation of new services.