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The world of IT is always looking for newer, more interesting ways to automate the most tedious tasks in our routine; like waiting for hours for your favorite movie to load on your laptop, to simply getting up and checking whether there are eggs in your fridge. 5g networks are promising you up to 1.3Gbps, and with IoT, your fridge will be able to tell your phone that you are out of eggs! Experts who have undergone blockchain training are looking to combine 5G networks and blockchain to make even more out of the advantages that the separate technologies have to offer.
Why all the fuss about 5G
You may have come across the term Industry 4.0 or the fourth industrial revolution. Many tech experts are now heralding the advent of 5G network as one of the main hallmarks of the fourth industrial revolution. Although 5G has not been fully rolled out and 4G is running parallel with it, everyone is excited about 5G.
5G refers to fifth generation wireless networks, which is an advancement of the 4G LTE network. Below are some of the reasons why everyone is looking forward to having it on their smartphones or business:
1. Better bandwidth
More people now own smart devices; this essentially means that the number of devices that will be trying to connect to the internet will increase significantly. 5G signals take shorter times to travel, which means lower latency, as little as one millisecond. 5G will enable telecommunication companies to offer better services to all their consumers. With 5G, pages will load faster and give users a better experience.
2. Speed
With 5G, there will be reduced barriers to optimum speed, which will make it almost 20 times faster than 4G. It is estimated that 5G broadband networks will offer consumers at home up to 20Gb/s, which is beyond incredible. This will allow you to send and receive essential data much faster than ever before.
3. Increased innovation in technological products
Companies like Google who are looking to create driverless cars will be able to do so with the advent of the 5G network. Consumers will also have access to better advancements in retail, medical care, and personalization. The combined advantage of incredible speeds, improved bandwidth, and low latency will allow tech companies to release better robotics, cloud computing, AR, Virtual Reality, and immersive education solutions.
4. Internet of Things (IoT)
Internet of things is a system where computing devices, digital and mechanical machinery, and objects are interconnected, fitted with a unique identifier, and can transmit data or communicate without any human-human or human-computer interaction.
This technology is expected to transform the manufacturing industry, with the ability of different machines communicating or controlling one another being the main advantage. However, IoT is also being applied in day to day tasks. Tech giant Cisco estimates that global data traffic will increase elevenfold, with most of the data coming from devices communicating with each other. Machine-to-machine (M2M) communication will only be possible with the kind of speeds that 5G network offers.
5. m-Health
Many consumers are now in need of technology that keeps up with changes in their health in real time; blood pressure, pulse rate, and other key indicators of wellbeing. Many digital devices are now being outfitted with a reliable health monitoring device, and 5G will facilitate further development and research into these solutions.
Possible issues in the telecommunication industry
There is a new technological advancement almost every waking minute, which means that telecommunication industries must keep transforming itself to remain relevant. Advancements have come their way, since 2000 when the internet first hit the IT world. 2019 is the year of cloud technology, IoT, microservices, augmented and virtual reality, among other trends. While these advancements are offering them the opportunity to grow, here are some of the challenges that they have experienced:
The need to upgrade their infrastructure
Telecommunication industries are faced with the challenge of improving their obsolete infrastructure with newer facilities that will keep up with emerging technologies. They also need to offer their customer better, reliable and secure voice and data services.
The IoT issue
It is predicted that there will be over 21 billion interconnected devices by 2020 as IoT becomes more ingrained in day to day life. To support the massive demand for IoT, telecom companies will need to install robust infrastructure and platforms.
Changing consumers’ tastes
Having millions of subscribers essentially means different opinions, preferences, and tastes. Telecom companies must, therefore, get back to the drawing board and device new or customized solutions to cater to their clients’ needs. They must come up with services that cater to their clients’ needs and also offer a reliable stream of revenue. This again also adds complexity to the billing, customer service, and order fulfillment logistics.
The solutions that combining 5G and blockchain offers
Blockchain is most famous for efficient data distribution and security it offers its users. The ability to share information on a network of computers without the fear of it being altered provides a great addition to the myriad of advantages that 5G already has.
IoT security
Tech experts are looking at the benefits that integrating 5G and blockchain will have for the internet of things. 5G will provide the speed and bandwidth to run blockchain operations smoothly. 5G also increases node participation, shortens block times and drives forward on-chain scalability. All these functions will serve to improve IoT.
Blockchain may provide the security needed to run the program. Right now, identification of devices in IoT is done using cloud-based servers that have databases for identification and other purposes. These databases are hardly secure, with their vulnerabilities being exposed and causing concern to many clients wanting to store data on cloud servers.
Blockchain can be the secure go-between for devices connected via 5G coverage. Again, since blockchain is decentralized and uses encryption technology, it can secure the identity of all participating devices. Every device can use its own blockchain address for identifying it and concealing its identity from other users.
Conclusion
The implication of combining two emergent technologies with high potential can only bring good tidings to the telecom industry.
