INDUSTRY WATCH: TELECOMS
5G: ENABLING THE
CONNECTED SOCIETY
OF THE FUTURE
5G will power the Internet of Everything and is set
to drive a revolution in many sectors. Africa needs
to begin building the foundations now to make the
most of what’s coming.
F
ifth-generation network technology
(5G) is currently in test phases in
developed markets such as China,
Europe and Japan and is expected for
deployment in 2020.
Whilst 5G inevitably equates to faster
mobile Internet speeds, Stefano Mattielo,
former Director for Global Services
Providers, Cisco, points out that it will
enable transformation far greater than
just quicker Internet: “5G is not just 4G
with a new high-speed air link interface.
It is the next step toward the mobile
broadband connected society of the
future. It needs to support tomorrow’s
services using a range of different
connectivity and provide unprecedented
scalability, not just of bandwidth but also
of connections and devices.”
www.intelligentcio.com
5G will be a great facilitator of the
Internet of Things. By bringing together
things, data, applications, transport
systems and cities through smart
networked communications, 5G will
accelerate the connected environment
required for IoT. This alone will bring
huge gains to Africa, according to a Cisco
report which projects IoT will generate
$14.3 billion in value over the next
decade for South Africa’s public sector.
5G in Africa
Africa is forecasting implementation
in a similar time-frame to the more
developed countries, as Omar
Moya, Head of Radio Business
Unit, Nokia MEA, explains: “In
Africa, we’re expecting 4.5G PRO
“We must deploy
new technologies
like 5G in a way that
minimises their
negative impact
on society here in
Africa.”
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