The fifth generation of cellular network technology is here, and it\u2019s much more than just a new technological stack for mobile networks.<\/p>\n
This is according to Sandro Tavares, Nokia\u2019s Global Head of Mobile Networks Marketing, who said that when looking at the benefits and opportunities of the technology in global markets, 5G is an asset for nations to develop the competitiveness of their economies in general.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt actually reflects on how critical the whole discussion around 5G is for all nations, starting from the most developed countries in the world, but also for developing countries,\u201d Tavares said.<\/p>\n
For these countries, it can mean a step forward in improving their productivity and having a better position in the world \u2013 especially when it goes beyond consumer services on 5G to enabling the industrial automation cases and public safety cases, which will be fundamental for developing countries.<\/p>\n
The first 5G networks which are being developed and deployed still rely heavily on 4G. This is because the connection is anchored on 4G – meaning that a strong and well-performing LTE network creates the fundamental basis for a strong and well-performing 5G network.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven as we move forward with the deployment of 5G, 4G is still important for some of the use cases so operators can balance their assets and make sure that they are utilised in the right technology for the right use cases,\u201d Tavares said.<\/p>\n
Further to this, a lot of the equipment that is being deployed for 4G actually evolves naturally to 5G – allowing for experimentation in how networks allocate frequencies between the two technologies\u2019 use features – such as dynamic spectrum sharing.<\/p>\n
Although the 5G market is in its infancy, South Korea \u2013 the first country to launch 5G, beating the US by only three hours \u2013 currently has about 10% of subscribers on 5G, and Nokia is a supplier to all three operators (KT, SKT, and LGU+).<\/p>\n
This means that even in an advanced country like South Korea there are just over 3 million subscribers on 5G, which are generating 2,000TB of traffic.<\/p>\n
“To this end, we’re going to see quite a lot of growth in terms of subscriber penetration of 5G throughout the rest of this year and into 2020 and 2021,” Tavares said.<\/p>\n
By 2025, Nokia believes that the vast majority of connections globally will be on 5G.<\/p>\n
“Things are also running much faster than we thought, so it could be even faster, said Tavares.<\/p>\n