5G – what the new standard means

You might think your 4G mobile device is cutting edge, but industry insiders already have their eyes set on the next standard: 5G.

The question is, what will this new standard entail?

Enthusiasts promise all kinds of new options: Using your mobile to pick up a phone call to a landline, or using a tablet to finish a live show you started watching on a TV.

“The customer will be able to seamlessly transition between different communications methods,” says Christian Fischer, who works on the 5G topic for Deutsche Telekom. Mobile networks and landline systems are expected to be ready for it by 2020. “With 5G, a new era will begin.”

Mobile phone users will be able to expect speeds of multiple gigabits per second when surfing, says Peter Merz, head of radio systems at Nokia Networks. That’s a big upgrade from today, where most operators offer speeds of up to 150 megabits per second.

Reaction times will also be upgraded so they take place in a millisecond. Right now, the best operators can only provide speeds between 30 and 100 milliseconds.

“Essentially, I’ll have no more waiting time,” says Fischer.

And, not only will customers like it, such speed is key for future mobile phone business models.

“5G will be a new era for wireless communications, not just in terms of people communicating with one another, but also with devices and machines,” says Merz. One example would be self-driving cars, a technology many enthusiasts see getting closer.

The future should also see one single communications standard, the internet protocol (IP). There will, of course, be efforts to expand the system of cables connecting everything, but the real focus will be on making the network more intelligent.

Software will recognize choke points in the network and route packages through less congested areas.

Enthusiasts also see a future where there are a lot more spots to connect from – whether from a lamppost or inside a home – bringing everyone on the network more closely together.

“We’re expecting a tenfold increase in transmitters,” says Merz. But, at the same time, he doesn’t see any increase – actually a slight decrease – in battery lives and the amount of radiation transmitted by the technology.

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