10–50 m
MmWave is a very high band spectrum between 30 to 300 GHz. As it is a significantly less used spectrum, it provides very high-speed wireless communication. MmWave offers ultra-wide bandwidth for next-generation mobile networks. MmWave has lots of advantages, but it has some disadvantages, too, such as mmWave signals are very high-frequency signals, so they have more collision with obstacles in the air which cause the signals loses energy quickly. Buildings and trees also block MmWave signals, so these signals cover a shorter distance. To resolve these issues, multiple small cell stations are installed to cover the gap between end-user and base station [ 18 ]. Small cell covers a very shorter range, so the installation of a small cell depends on the population of a particular area. Generally, in a populated place, the distance between each small cell varies from 10 to 90 meters. In the survey [ 20 ], various authors implemented small cells with massive MIMO simultaneously. They also reviewed multiple technologies used in 5G like beamforming, small cell, massive MIMO, NOMA, device to device (D2D) communication. Various problems like interference management, spectral efficiency, resource management, energy efficiency, and backhauling are discussed. The author also gave a detailed presentation of all the issues occurring while implementing small cells with various 5G technologies. As shown in the Figure 7 , mmWave has a higher range, so it can be easily blocked by the obstacles as shown in Figure 7 a. This is one of the key concerns of millimeter-wave signal transmission. To solve this issue, the small cell can be placed at a short distance to transmit the signals easily, as shown in Figure 7 b.
Pictorial representation of communication with and without small cells.
Beamforming is a key technology of wireless networks which transmits the signals in a directional manner. 5G beamforming making a strong wireless connection toward a receiving end. In conventional systems when small cells are not using beamforming, moving signals to particular areas is quite difficult. Beamforming counter this issue using beamforming small cells are able to transmit the signals in particular direction towards a device like mobile phone, laptops, autonomous vehicle and IoT devices. Beamforming is improving the efficiency and saves the energy of the 5G network. Beamforming is broadly divided into three categories: Digital beamforming, analog beamforming and hybrid beamforming. Digital beamforming: multiuser MIMO is equal to digital beamforming which is mainly used in LTE Advanced Pro and in 5G NR. In digital beamforming the same frequency or time resources can be used to transmit the data to multiple users at the same time which improves the cell capacity of wireless networks. Analog Beamforming: In mmWave frequency range 5G NR analog beamforming is a very important approach which improves the coverage. In digital beamforming there are chances of high pathloss in mmWave as only one beam per set of antenna is formed. While the analog beamforming saves high pathloss in mmWave. Hybrid beamforming: hybrid beamforming is a combination of both analog beamforming and digital beamforming. In the implementation of MmWave in 5G network hybrid beamforming will be used [ 84 ].
Wireless signals in the 4G network are spreading in large areas, and nature is not Omnidirectional. Thus, energy depletes rapidly, and users who are accessing these signals also face interference problems. The beamforming technique is used in the 5G network to resolve this issue. In beamforming signals are directional. They move like a laser beam from the base station to the user, so signals seem to be traveling in an invisible cable. Beamforming helps achieve a faster data rate; as the signals are directional, it leads to less energy consumption and less interference. In [ 21 ], investigators evolve some techniques which reduce interference and increase system efficiency of the 5G mobile network. In this survey article, the authors covered various challenges faced while designing an optimized beamforming algorithm. Mainly focused on different design parameters such as performance evaluation and power consumption. In addition, they also described various issues related to beamforming like CSI, computation complexity, and antenna correlation. They also covered various research to cover how beamforming helps implement MIMO in next-generation mobile networks [ 85 ]. Figure 8 shows the pictorial representation of communication with and without using beamforming.
Pictorial Representation of communication with and without using beamforming.
Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) [ 24 ]: MEC is an extended version of cloud computing that brings cloud resources closer to the end-user. When we talk about computing, the very first thing that comes to our mind is cloud computing. Cloud computing is a very famous technology that offers many services to end-user. Still, cloud computing has many drawbacks. The services available in the cloud are too far from end-users that create latency, and cloud user needs to download the complete application before use, which also increases the burden to the device [ 86 ]. MEC creates an edge between the end-user and cloud server, bringing cloud computing closer to the end-user. Now, all the services, namely, video conferencing, virtual software, etc., are offered by this edge that improves cloud computing performance. Another essential feature of MEC is that the application is split into two parts, which, first one is available at cloud server, and the second is at the user’s device. Therefore, the user need not download the complete application on his device that increases the performance of the end user’s device. Furthermore, MEC provides cloud services at very low latency and less bandwidth. In [ 23 , 87 ], the author’s investigation proved that successful deployment of MEC in 5G network increases the overall performance of 5G architecture. Graphical differentiation between cloud computing and mobile edge computing is presented in Figure 9 .
Pictorial representation of cloud computing vs. mobile edge computing.
Security is the key feature in the telecommunication network industry, which is necessary at various layers, to handle 5G network security in applications such as IoT, Digital forensics, IDS and many more [ 88 , 89 ]. The authors [ 90 ], discussed the background of 5G and its security concerns, challenges and future directions. The author also introduced the blockchain technology that can be incorporated with the IoT to overcome the challenges in IoT. The paper aims to create a security framework which can be incorporated with the LTE advanced network, and effective in terms of cost, deployment and QoS. In [ 91 ], author surveyed various form of attacks, the security challenges, security solutions with respect to the affected technology such as SDN, Network function virtualization (NFV), Mobile Clouds and MEC, and security standardizations of 5G, i.e., 3GPP, 5GPPP, Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN), European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). In [ 92 ], author elaborated various technological aspects, security issues and their existing solutions and also mentioned the new emerging technological paradigms for 5G security such as blockchain, quantum cryptography, AI, SDN, CPS, MEC, D2D. The author aims to create new security frameworks for 5G for further use of this technology in development of smart cities, transportation and healthcare. In [ 93 ], author analyzed the threats and dark threat, security aspects concerned with SDN and NFV, also their Commercial & Industrial Security Corporation (CISCO) 5G vision and new security innovations with respect to the new evolving architectures of 5G [ 94 ].
AuthenticationThe identification of the user in any network is made with the help of authentication. The different mobile network generations from 1G to 5G have used multiple techniques for user authentication. 5G utilizes the 5G Authentication and Key Agreement (AKA) authentication method, which shares a cryptographic key between user equipment (UE) and its home network and establishes a mutual authentication process between the both [ 95 ].
Access Control To restrict the accessibility in the network, 5G supports access control mechanisms to provide a secure and safe environment to the users and is controlled by network providers. 5G uses simple public key infrastructure (PKI) certificates for authenticating access in the 5G network. PKI put forward a secure and dynamic environment for the 5G network. The simple PKI technique provides flexibility to the 5G network; it can scale up and scale down as per the user traffic in the network [ 96 , 97 ].
Communication Security 5G deals to provide high data bandwidth, low latency, and better signal coverage. Therefore secure communication is the key concern in the 5G network. UE, mobile operators, core network, and access networks are the main focal point for the attackers in 5G communication. Some of the common attacks in communication at various segments are Botnet, message insertion, micro-cell, distributed denial of service (DDoS), and transport layer security (TLS)/secure sockets layer (SSL) attacks [ 98 , 99 ].
Encryption The confidentiality of the user and the network is done using encryption techniques. As 5G offers multiple services, end-to-end (E2E) encryption is the most suitable technique applied over various segments in the 5G network. Encryption forbids unauthorized access to the network and maintains the data privacy of the user. To encrypt the radio traffic at Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, three 128-bits keys are applied at the user plane, nonaccess stratum (NAS), and access stratum (AS) [ 100 ].
In this section, various issues addressed by investigators in 5G technologies are presented in Table 13 . In addition, different parameters are considered, such as throughput, latency, energy efficiency, data rate, spectral efficiency, fairness & computing capacity, transmission rate, coverage, cost, security requirement, performance, QoS, power optimization, etc., indexed from R1 to R14.
Summary of 5G Technology above stated challenges (R1:Throughput, R2:Latency, R3:Energy Efficiency, R4:Data Rate, R5:Spectral efficiency, R6:Fairness & Computing Capacity, R7:Transmission Rate, R8:Coverage, R9:Cost, R10:Security requirement, R11:Performance, R12:Quality of Services (QoS), R13:Power Optimization).
Approach | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | R10 | R11 | R12 | R13 | R14 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Panzner et al. [ ] | Good | Low | Good | - | Avg | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Qiao et al. [ ] | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Avg | Good | Avg | - | - | - | - |
He et al. [ ] | Avg | Low | Avg | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Abrol and jha [ ] | - | - | Good | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Good |
Al-Imari et al. [ ] | - | - | - | - | Good | Good | Avg | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Papadopoulos et al. [ ] | Good | Low | Avg | - | Avg | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Kiani and Nsari [ ] | - | - | - | - | Avg | Good | Good | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Beck [ ] | - | Low | - | - | - | - | - | Avg | - | - | - | Good | - | Avg |
Ni et al. [ ] | - | - | - | Good | - | - | - | - | - | - | Avg | Avg | - | - |
Elijah [ ] | Avg | Low | Avg | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Alawe et al. [ ] | - | Low | Good | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Avg | - |
Zhou et al. [ ] | Avg | - | Good | - | Avg | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Islam et al. [ ] | - | - | - | - | Good | Avg | Avg | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Bega et al. [ ] | - | Avg | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Good | - |
Akpakwu et al. [ ] | - | - | - | Good | - | - | - | - | - | - | Avg | Good | - | - |
Wei et al. [ ] | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Good | Avg | Low | - | - | - | - |
Khurpade et al. [ ] | - | - | - | Avg | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Avg | - | - |
Timotheou and Krikidis [ ] | - | - | - | - | Good | Good | Avg | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Wang [ ] | Avg | Low | Avg | Avg | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Akhil Gupta & R. K. Jha [ ] | - | - | Good | Avg | Good | - | - | - | - | - | - | Good | Good | - |
Pérez-Romero et al. [ ] | - | - | Avg | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Avg |
Pi [ ] | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Good | Good | Avg | - | - | - | - |
Zi et al. [ ] | - | Avg | Good | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Chin [ ] | - | - | Good | Avg | - | - | - | - | - | Avg | - | Good | - | - |
Mamta Agiwal [ ] | - | Avg | - | Good | - | - | - | - | - | - | Good | Avg | - | - |
Ramesh et al. [ ] | Good | Avg | Good | - | Good | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Niu [ ] | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Good | Avg | Avg | - | - | - | |
Fang et al. [ ] | - | Avg | Good | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Good | - |
Hoydis [ ] | - | - | Good | - | Good | - | - | - | - | Avg | - | Good | - | - |
Wei et al. [ ] | - | - | - | - | Good | Avg | Good | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Hong et al. [ ] | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Avg | Avg | Low | - | - | - |
Rashid [ ] | - | - | - | Good | - | - | - | Good | - | - | - | Avg | - | Good |
Prasad et al. [ ] | Good | - | Good | - | Avg | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Lähetkangas et al. [ ] | - | Low | Av | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
This survey article illustrates the emergence of 5G, its evolution from 1G to 5G mobile network, applications, different research groups, their work, and the key features of 5G. It is not just a mobile broadband network, different from all the previous mobile network generations; it offers services like IoT, V2X, and Industry 4.0. This paper covers a detailed survey from multiple authors on different technologies in 5G, such as massive MIMO, Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access (NOMA), millimeter wave, small cell, MEC (Mobile Edge Computing), beamforming, optimization, and machine learning in 5G. After each section, a tabular comparison covers all the state-of-the-research held in these technologies. This survey also shows the importance of these newly added technologies and building a flexible, scalable, and reliable 5G network.
This article covers a detailed survey on the 5G mobile network and its features. These features make 5G more reliable, scalable, efficient at affordable rates. As discussed in the above sections, numerous technical challenges originate while implementing those features or providing services over a 5G mobile network. So, for future research directions, the research community can overcome these challenges while implementing these technologies (MIMO, NOMA, small cell, mmWave, beam-forming, MEC) over a 5G network. 5G communication will bring new improvements over the existing systems. Still, the current solutions cannot fulfill the autonomous system and future intelligence engineering requirements after a decade. There is no matter of discussion that 5G will provide better QoS and new features than 4G. But there is always room for improvement as the considerable growth of centralized data and autonomous industry 5G wireless networks will not be capable of fulfilling their demands in the future. So, we need to move on new wireless network technology that is named 6G. 6G wireless network will bring new heights in mobile generations, as it includes (i) massive human-to-machine communication, (ii) ubiquitous connectivity between the local device and cloud server, (iii) creation of data fusion technology for various mixed reality experiences and multiverps maps. (iv) Focus on sensing and actuation to control the network of the entire world. The 6G mobile network will offer new services with some other technologies; these services are 3D mapping, reality devices, smart homes, smart wearable, autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, and sense. It is expected that 6G will provide ultra-long-range communication with a very low latency of 1 ms. The per-user bit rate in a 6G wireless network will be approximately 1 Tbps, and it will also provide wireless communication, which is 1000 times faster than 5G networks.
Author contributions.
Conceptualization: R.D., I.Y., G.C., P.L. data gathering: R.D., G.C., P.L, I.Y. funding acquisition: I.Y. investigation: I.Y., G.C., G.P. methodology: R.D., I.Y., G.C., P.L., G.P., survey: I.Y., G.C., P.L, G.P., R.D. supervision: G.C., I.Y., G.P. validation: I.Y., G.P. visualization: R.D., I.Y., G.C., P.L. writing, original draft: R.D., I.Y., G.C., P.L., G.P. writing, review, and editing: I.Y., G.C., G.P. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
This paper was supported by Soonchunhyang University.
Informed consent statement, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
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In collaboration with the World Economic Forum (WEF) we have published a new whitepaper, Creating New Value across Industries and Society, outlining the ways to realize the large estimated economic output potential of 5G by taking a bottom-up approach through a use-case-driven analysis. You can view the full paper here .
Rolling out 5G is critical because it will enable unprecedented levels of connectivity, upgrading 4G networks with five key functional drivers: superfast broadband, ultra-reliable low latency communication, massive machine-type communications, high reliability/availability and efficient energy usage. Together, these defining features will transform many sectors, such as manufacturing, transportation, public services and health.
The analysis of 40 sample use cases in a wide range of key industries within this paper establishes linkages between commercial and societal impact of 5G, discussing how the functional drivers of 5G could enhance the output of these use cases as 5G networks evolve.
What is clearly apparent is that there is significant economic and social value to be gained from the widespread deployment of 5G networks. Technological applications, enabled by a set of key functional features, will both facilitate industrial advances—improving their bottom line—and enhance city and citizen experiences.
However, to accelerate the adoption of 5G, new collaboration models among stakeholders are needed, along with clear methodologies to estimate the social value creation, which will enhance the business case for 5G. This in turn will require the development of new business models, particularly within the Telecommunications industry, a topic we have covered in our whitepaper Making 5G Pay .
However, the transition to 5G networks can only be achieved when all stakeholders—citizens, the private sector, regulators, national governments and cities—collaborate to effectively address these issues. The insights and recommendations in this white paper aim to pave the way towards accelerating a global, sustainable and inclusive transition to 5G networks, creating significant economic and social value.
You can view the full paper here The Impact of 5G: Creating New Value across Industries and Society
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Telecoms are set to invest heavily in 5G. But to get a fair return, companies should explore new service offerings, use cases and business models.
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With nearly 87 percent of the world connected to 4G LTE or better mobile technologies, 5G is emerging as a source of commercial solutions for smart connectivity. This paper outlines a framework for evaluating 5G use cases, such as Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) or private 5G networks (P5G) based on industry and consumer supply and demand.
The paper’s 2×2 matrix framework categorizes 5G applications into four quadrants. Each quadrant represents a unique combination of market readiness and technological development, offering valuable insights into the current and future landscape of 5G. The quadrants clarify successful case studies, unmet pain points, uncertain future considerations, and latent potential of any 5G use case.
Additionally, key topics covered include:
According to Paul Bongaarts, Senior Member of Technical Staff, T-Mobile US and working group co-leader of the briefing paper stated, “The 5G ecosystem is maturing and new, groundbreaking use cases are beginning to emerge. With standalone networks growing, 5G continues to be at the forefront of innovation and bringing new applications and solutions to life.”
"With the increasing adoption of Standalone (SA) 5G networks, we are witnessing a shift in the industry that is leading the way to a significant transformation. SA deployments can simplify networks by eliminating 4G dependency and accelerating 5G expansion in industrial applications, FWA, and private networks. As a result, we expect to experience the full potential of 5G in these domains.” Prashanth Devaraj, Director of Technology, Networks Business, Samsung Electronics America
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5G Networks is in growth mode as it empowers organizations to accelerate digital transformation. The Australian service provider offers enterprise and wholesale networking, cloud and data centre services, in addition to managed IT services.
5G Networks is investing heavily to accelerate a digital-first mindset, and it relies on Juniper for a flexible, scalable network as the key foundation for rapid service expansion.
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A number of targeted acquisitions have created massive growth opportunities for 5G Networks. The 2021 majority acquisition of Webcentral Group, a web hosting and domain name registrar, has now added more than 300,000 customers. A few months later, the company acquired Intergrid, a leading provider of bare-metal cloud services.
To capitalise on digital opportunities, 5G Networks is expanding its nationwide fibre footprint to link Australia’s capital cities and directly connect 80 data centres. The company is also growing its cloud and managed IT business, anchored in five state-of-the-art data centres in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide.
5G Networks relies on Juniper solutions for the foundation of its national network, data centre and cloud services, and managed IT services.
Juniper Networks® MX Series Universal Routing Platform underpins its 100-Gbps core network, easily transporting massive amounts of data at high speed and low latency. Juniper Networks QFX Series Switch and EX Series Switch serve as the spine and leaf nodes for the IP network fabric in its data centres. Juniper Networks SRX Series Services Gateway provides next-generation firewall services to protect its data centres and other points of presence.
“The Juniper team are always on hand, from sales and solution enablement through to providing solid commercial outcomes, allowing us to be competitive in the marketplace,” says Karla Chiappazzo, Partner Manager at 5G Networks.
5G Networks appreciates the operational efficiency of Juniper’s high-density routers and switches, enabling the provider to serve more customers at a lower the cost of operations. Less rack space and lower power consumption also mean that its data centres have a lower carbon footprint.
5G Networks forecasts strong growth for its newest managed IT service offering: software-defined local area network (SD-LAN). Customers can stay focused on their business priorities while 5G Networks handles network operators. Customers can count on fast, reliable, and secure wired and wireless connectivity to power their digital activities.
In addition, 5G Networks have recently expanded its wholesale business, selling data centre, cloud, and IP transit services to managed service providers across the country. This expansion delivers huge opportunities to expand its private and hybrid cloud services.
5G Networks continues to seek accretive acquisitions and investment opportunities that will fuel its growth trajectory. “With open, scalable Juniper solutions as our network foundation, the company is well positioned to accelerate digital transformation for customers” Marco Mattiuzzo, CTO, 5G Networks.
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5G use cases are increasing in number, and in this post we take a look at the most innovative projects around the world today.
5G use cases tend to rely on the increased speed and consistency of 5G, as well as the latency reductions it offers, and they promise to disrupt both traditional and digital sectors. And there are a plethora of opportunities for 5G technology over the coming months, years and decades.
5G use cases will pave the way for automated vehicles, smart cities, automated factories, and a new wave of business communications. According to the results of a study by Accenture, 79% of businesses worldwide believe that 5G will have a significant impact on their organisation. And 57% of those believe that it will be revolutionary.
According to small business portal Bytestart , 5G will allow communication between a million devices per square kilometre (compared with 100,000 for 4G). The enabling of these IoT sensors, combined with speed and low latency, will lead to many benefits across a range of business and prosumer activities.
IoT connectivity will lead to fully integrated smart cities, which will be essential as urban populations grow. The United Nations (UN) predicts that 68 percent of the world’s population will be living in urban areas by 2050, which will place increasing pressure on our cities, such as pollution, crime, overcrowding, congestion, and social disorder.
There are already some amazing 5G use cases out there. That's what this feature is all about - the ways in which 5G is already being used across the globe. Because 5G networks are still being rolled out, many of these use cases are actually in the test or proof-of-concept phase, using prototype networks, devices or other technology. But the idea of gathering them here is to show the huge future potential of 5G technology .
Network operators are already looking to showcase what can be achieved with 5G technology , and one such 5G use case is the Alba Iulia Smart City , which has been developed in conjunction with Orange, and has seen congestion monitoring, parking sensors, and smart waste management introduced in the Romanian city.
Smart factories will also be enabled by 5G, including more robots in production lines, and drones in last mile delivery. It will also enable car to car communication around hazards and incidents, as well as fully automated cars.
Get up to speed with 5G, and discover the latest deals, news, and insight!
The CTO of Waymo , which started life as the Google Self-Driving Car Project in 2009, believes that 5G is a crucial “enabler”, when it comes to developing the company’s autonomous car fleets.
“I think it’ll help in terms of communication [and with] latency and bandwidth,” explains Dmitri Dolgov, Waymo’s CTO. “Our cars still have to rely on onboard computation for anything that is safety-critical, but 5G will be an accelerator.”
O2 has also now announced a project to trial driverless cars in London using its 5G network. The UK's second-biggest phone network has partnered with the Smart Mobility Living Lab - a research organisation comprised of experts from the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), DG Cities, Cisco, and Loughborough University - to develop what it claims to be the ‘most advanced driverless testbed in the world’.
The organisation is based in Greenwich as well as the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The aim is to develop a road management system with the focus on a 10 percent reduction in the time that motorists spend in traffic. Other figures include a positive benefit to the economy of £880m a year from improved productivity as well as the reduction of CO2 emissions by 370,000 metric tonnes a year.
At the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2020, Samsung and BMW showcased the companies' efforts in connected cars, revealing the 5G TCU (Telematics Control Unit). The TCU will be included in the BMW iNext, coming in 2021. The iNext will include technology from Samsung subsidiary Harman. The companies are talking up the benefits of the technology as not only enabling greater levels of autonomy but also detailed and specific information such as whether there's something in your blind spot.
Elsewhere, Huawei, in partnership with Thailand National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Communication (NBTC) and Siriraj Hospital, has launched a new project to use 5G-powered self-driving vehicles to deliver medical supplies.
According to data from the UK’s Office for National Statistics, jobs such as bus drivers and hospital porters are particularly at risk from catching Covid-19 whilst at work, with both jobs in the top 20% when it comes to exposure. And this scheme enables the transportation of goods around the Siriraj Hospital campus in Thailand, where workers face a similar risk to those in the UK. In the initial stage of the project, driverless vehicles will be used to transport and distribute medicines, which will be delivered via a contactless system, which will help reduce workload and infection risk among frontline workers.
Connectivity is increasingly important at sporting events with, as an example, the average Bundesliga match attracting 43,000 spectators, who consume an average of 500GB – a figure which has risen by 50 percent over the past 12 months,.
Because of this, some sporting organisations fear that spectators will stay at home if they can't stay connected. However, existing mobile and Wi-Fi networks lack the capacity for such densely-populated environments, which is why venues and operators are so excited about 5G. Research from Amdocs and Ovum suggests 91 percent of the world’s leading mobile operators plan to hold trials of 5G sporting experiences at stadiums, with the likes of Verizon announcing the 5G availability at selected NFL stadiums.
This will not only increase fan satisfaction, but also enable new experiences. The German FA plans to let fans view data insights in real time – such as how fast a player is sprinting – using Augmented Reality.
Verizon and Cisco are partnering to deliver a number of new capabilities to stadiums, such as the ability to use analytics to estimate waiting times at gates, restrooms and concession stands. Supporters will also have the ability to access digital signage, and via a mobile app they will also get tailored updates, information on crowd density, and tips on the best ways to avoid crowds and maintain social distancing.
To deliver these new 5G capabilities, venues in Cisco’s Sports and Entertainment portfolio will be able to access Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband with mobile edge computing (MEC) capabilities. Cisco innovations, which will be able to tap into Verizon’s MEC include Cisco DNA Spaces for secure location analytics; Cisco switching and data center technology; connected venue analytics; and more.
Sports broadcasting is arguably the most developed use case for 5G to date, with ready-made innovations driving efficiencies and unlocking a raft of creativity options. 5G-enabled cameras eliminate the need to use cables, making it easier to cover sports that take place over a wide area. Fox Sports has trialled 5G at golf’s US Open (with Intel, AT&T, and Ericsson) allowing its team to cover more of the course, while 5G was used to capture some events at the 2018 Winter Olympics. In the UK, BT Sport is able to join football fans in the pub before the game, travel on the team bus, capture the game, and do post-match interviews using the same camera.
Meanwhile, 5G-enabled remote production enables video feeds to be sent back to a central hub, rather than an outside broadcast truck. This massively reduces costs and allows production teams to work across multiple events in a single day. Already, the likes of Verizon and Sony have joined forces to demonstrate how 5G can enhance live sports broadcasts.
Verizon wants to be the first telco to use 5G to enable a million connected flights of 5G drones to take place. That's some ambition, but the idea has some backing since Verizon bought Skyward in 2016 - an organisation specializing in drone operations for businesses and enterprises.
Skyward provides drone operators with detailed mapping while operating industrial drones plus there are also tools for overseeing multiple drones in action and, basically, work out what needs to go where.
Verizon's plan is to enable as many drones as possible to be connected and to transmit video footage in real-time but also to relay back other intelligence such as levels of stock in a warehouse situation
“We've already started testing connected drones on 5G on the Verizon Network,” said Mariah Scott, president of Skyward . “We knew early on that connectivity would be critical for drones. And now 5G Ultra Wideband will usher in a new era in aviation, where we connect and integrate drones into the national airspace.”
Elsewhere, Irish startup Manna has partnered with Cubic Telecom to fly delivery 5G-connected delivery drones in Ireland and England by the end of 2020. It is currently testing the tech at a base in Pontypool, Wales.
The intention is for the drones to charge $1 per delivery. Each drone will have three batteries on board, meaning that they can make five deliveries per hour. Even so, that doesn't seem that profitable to us, but Manna believes that by keeping the drones flying as much as possible it can make it work.
Verizon showcased its 5G tech in real-time rendering of effects from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The network partnered with Walt Disney Studios’ StudioLAB for a demo at the premiere afterparty in in Hollywood where guests were able to interact with Sith troopers in real-time.
Two actors played the troopers working in a remote location 15 miles away. Those who took part in the demo could approach a screen and interact with the two Sith troopers. The troopers were able to react in real-time.
“Both the StudioLAB and Verizon believe 5G will fundamentally change everything about how entertainment media is created, distributed and consumed,” said Nicki Palmer, chief product development officer at Verizon.
“The speed and low latency of 5G can unlock incredible creative capabilities,” added Ben Havey at Disney Studios StudioLAB. “We want to give storytellers early access to this new technology so they can continue to bring unparalleled experiences to audiences around the world.”
In November EE streamed a 360-degree augmented reality (AR) Bastille concert from Birmingham New Street station to Edinburgh and Liverpool.
As well as being covered by various media outlets, the stunt wasn't just for fun - the event will be featured in a new EE brand campaign by Saatchi & Saatchi
Members of the public in Edinburgh and Liverpool could watch the gig on devices provided by EE reps including the Samsung Galaxy Fold 5G and some AR glasses. Of course, AR visuals surrounded the band which could be seen on the glasses.
EE has used other music stars to promote 5G - it held a gig with Stormzy on the River Thames to promote the launch of its 5G network. The network also sponsors the Glastonbury Festival each year.
Virgin Trains has been testing out 5G-powered Wi-Fi on its trains. The company believes it is the first railway company to trial the new tech. The trial happened on services between London Euston and Birmingham New Street, and between London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly.
However, Virgin Trains hasn't yet said if and when it plans to offer 5G-powered Wi-Fi on board its trains.
The Vodafone 5G network was used to provide the 5G service - the red network has installed 5G in key transport locations including Birmingham New Street station.
Virgin says the speeds seen were up to ten times faster than current on-board Wi-Fi.
Whilst companies such as Virgin Trains are looking to get 5G into the UK's biggest stations, a private and public sector consortium, led by Cisco, has gone underground to test 5G use cases on the Glasgow Subway.
5G RailNext has announced a pioneering new project to explore new 5G use cases for underground commuters, by setting up a unique private 5G network to connect passengers travelling by train on Scotland’s historic Glasgow Subway.
5G RailNext is a private and public sector consortium led by Cisco, and it includes companies and organisations across the technology, marketing and transport sectors, including the University of Strathclyde, Ampletime, Sublime, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, and Glasgow City Council. And as part of the UK Government's £200 million 5G Testbeds & Trials Programme, it aims to maximise the opportunities around 5G applications and services.
With 5G networks using URLLC (Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications) latency can theoretically reduce that to a single millisecond, essentially rendering the issue of latency meaningless. The advantages to manufacturers are many; think high-precision assembly lines where all machines and robots are perfectly in sync in real-time, the mass-adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT), and even humans controlling machines via touch. However, the first generation of 5G networks tend to offer around 10ms latency, so, for now, latency is still an issue. Expect second-gen 5G networks to be mostly about reducing latency.
5G in a manufacturing context is not about making use of publicly available 5G connections as used by consumers. No, 5G for industry is about constructing custom-made, private 5G networks that essentially bring alive the idea of an Intelligent or ‘smart’ factory. Also known as Industry 4.0, this is about abandoning the old ways to embrace connected systems to encourage more streamlined automation in a closed environment. With the Internet of Things (IoT) in full deployment and connected sensors on every machine, the aim is to predict problems, see problems emerge in real-time, and reduce production downtime. The secret sauce will be AI-capable analytics software to crunch real-time data on every machine and piece of equipment.
In the US, mobile network Verizon has partnered with specialist glass maker Corning to investigate how 5G can improve the factory environment.
The maker of Corning Gorilla Glass (used on vast numbers of smartphones) are looking at how 5G can improve control across a factory environment on a large scale by tracking supplies across the whole complex, autonomous vehicles - so they can be called in from other parts of the facility - as well as moving product around.
"As artificial intelligence starts using this data and improving our process, making our processes more efficient, that's when we're going to start seeing the value," says Claudio Mazzalli, Corning's vice president of technology.
Could it actually save Corning money? "We are not speculating right now, but I can tell you that this question is a very important question for us. We don't want to start just adding devices everywhere if we don't see the value."
Traditional industries such as agriculture will use 5G sensors to collate real-time information about fertilisation, livestock, and moisture needs, helping to conserve energy. And we are already seeing the emergence of smart farms, with services such as the MooCall calving sensor and app now being powered by 5G. MooCall is a sensor that attaches to the tail of cows, and then alerts farmers when a cow is about to give birth (cows move their tails more just before and during labour).
“With the growing prevalence of IoT and 5G, we expect to see increasing innovation in the agricultural sector,” says Anne Sheehan, Director, Vodafone Business. “By using digital tools, farmers can gain better control over processes such as raising livestock and growing crops, improving overall productivity, efficiency and financial performance … technologies such as IoT and 5G must be viewed as a priority for the farming sector.”
The health industry will offer remote diagnosis and operations, as well as e-health and responsive wearables, and AI assistants might help people with disabilities. Companies such as the interactive physiotherapy specialist Immersive Rehab are already looking at how 5G can improve their offering, and 5G is being used in various trials such as the Liverpool 5G Testbed .
5G has even made its way into the operating theatre, when Telefónica, with the help of a hospital in Malaga, already presented the first assistance system for surgery that runs entirely on 5G technology . The howcase took place at the IV Advanced Digestive Endoscopy Conference, where Telefónica broadcast medical training sessions live, and in 4K quality. It achieved this with “almost no latency,” according to Telefónica .
Elsewhere, O2 has developed a deal with Samsung and the NHS to test out “smart ambulances” equipped with 5G technology . O2 will test the technology on six ambulances which will allow for new services such as real-time video technology and high-quality scanners (read the full story here ).
The construction industry has always looked at new technologies as a way to improve safety and working practices, and 5G is no different.
KT and Hyundai Engineering & Construction have announced that they will work together to build 5G networks at construction sites, with a aim to develop construction and automation technology.Using 5G infrastructure, we could see autonomous construction robots, and 5G will also be used to improve other technologies with better productivity and monitoring at construction sites.
KT will help Hyundai to build these 5G networks at its construction sites. The trials of the 5G solutions will commence later this year. If the trial all goes to plan, then the two companies aim to apply their technologies to many more construction sites next year.
KT has said that its 5G technologies will provide "ultra-fast data transmission speeds and ultra-low latency with top notch security". And the companies have both said that the development of autonomous robots will give Hyundai the opportunity to carry out work on sites with limited to no human access (read the full story here ).
There are many interesting user case studies, but the increased use of 5G connected drones or autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for service or production delivery is one with some very interesting permutations. One of these might help with disaster relief situations via the sharing of real time data. They could help with search and rescue missions and deliver medical help, according to OnQ a blog from US telecom operator Qualcomm. And 5G drones can also be used as small cells to prevent gaps in 5G coverage.
Another interesting end result of 5G is the huge potential for energy savings. Including all the currently unconnected, energy consuming devices via 5G IoT connections into the grid will allow for better management of energy.
Where there are outages, 5G and smart grid technology can help with early diagnosis, speeding up repairs and reducing down time. Smart lighting will see street lights dimmed when no one is present, again saving power.
In fact, a recent McKinsey report, Future proofing infrastructure in a fast changing world, argued that cities deploying a range of smart solutions could cut greenhouse gas emissions by 10–15 percent.
The broadcasting industry is currently looking at whether 5G technology can deliver both linear, and nonlinear broadcasts, whilst supporting them with enhanced media services (EMS), which are a combination of both. (‘Linear media’ refers to conventional TV or radio channels where programmes such as news, sport, entertainment and documentaries are scheduled by a service provider to be viewed at the time of transmission; whereas ‘nonlinear media’ is a type of media content that is offered on-demand at the request of the user.)
In 2019, a consortium of European broadcasting companies – led by virtualized media production company, Nevion – received a grant of €2 million from the European Union to create a remote production studio, powered by 5G technology. The project, known as VIRTUOSA , was selected from a list of 225 applications, and it has announced that it has taken its first technical step, opening an IP-based production studio, at Nevion’s Service Operations Center (SOC) in Gdansk, Poland.
This initial phase involves setting up an IP-based studio, built on industry standards (SMPTE ST 2110 and NMOS) and integrating equipment from multiple vendors, including: video cameras, a vision mixer, and a server from Sony; a multiviewer from TAG Video Systems; an audio mixer from Stagetec; a media analyzer from Telestream; IP switches from Mellanox; a PTP-compliant time and frequency synchronization from Meinberg; software-defined media nodes from Nevion; and all of it managed by an orchestration and SDN control system from Nevion.
Telia, together with the government-owned subscription station TV2 Denmark, and leading lighting company BB&S, has developed a partnership to showcase 5G-connected lamps, which can be used in TV and film production, and could one day transform the broadcasting industry.
Telia is a Swedish multinational telecommunications company, and mobile network provider, which operates in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. And as a ‘Tier 1 network’ operator, it is particularly focussed on 5G, and its ability to deliver new services.
And Telia has worked closely with TV2 and BB&S to test how 5G networking could be employed to improve lightning set-up and cost efficiency in broadcasting.
Since it was founded in 1999, BB&S Lighting has worked with numerous broadcasting clients around the world, and on movie projects such as Star Wars - The last Jedi, Interstellar, Alien: Covenant, Pirates of Caribbean, and Independence Day 2.
These set-ups can consist of 100s of lamps, every one of which needs to be connected with a power and a control cable. But using 5G, lights can be managed remotely, in real-time, providing huge efficiency and cost benefits.
Centrica Storage and Vodafone have entered a partnership that will build the “gas plant of the future” at their Easington site, providing a 5G-ready mobile private network (MPN) for the facility, which will be the first of its kind in the UK’s oil and gas sector.
The new 5G infrastructure will enable Centrica Storage to automate, monitor, and centralize much of its critical maintenance and engineering operations. Real-time data will enable Centrica Storage to monitor its facility, streamline operational resources, and reduce costs. And the 5G network will even improve safety, enabling engineers to use virtual reality headsets to undertake training and critical maintenance tasks.
The 5G mobile private network will be built by Vodafone using Ericsson equipment, and will enable a number of industrial 5G use cases, such as connecting workers to digital data and applications across the entire site, increasing productivity whilst reducing cost, and all in a much safer environment.
Although the first wave of video calls over 5G will be on phones (which is why most 5G phones have better front cameras), in the long term expect full HD, 4K and even 8K video streams to be exchanged between 5G-enabled augmented reality (AR) devices and virtual reality (VR) headsets. With 5G’s ability to stream high capacity data packets in real-time, video-calling applications are about to get super-charged and go 360°.
And once video calling over 5G has improved, expect another giant leap to be made with the advent of live 3D holographic phone calls. Last year UK network operator Vodafone conducted the UK’s first live holographic call using 5G technology, with England and Manchester City Women’s footballer Steph Houghton using 5G tech to make a holographic call from Manchester. She appeared as a live 3D hologram on stage in front of an audience at Vodafone’s UK HQ in Newbury. European network operator Cosmote in Greece has also used the same tech to ‘holoport’ musicians in different physical locations on to a virtual stage where they played a piece of music together. 3D holographic calls require about four times as much data as a streamed 4K video – itself pretty data-intensive – though 5G’s low latency is just as important. In the long term the tech has potential applications for medical imaging, video conferencing and gaming.
Logistics company Ice Mobility is testing on Verizon’s on-site 5G Edge platform, integrated with Microsoft Azure.
“When I heard that [Verizon] were partnering with Microsoft, it kind of sealed the deal for me,” said Mike Mohr, CEO of Ice Mobility. “We have always been a Microsoft house for everything we do in our business, and so it became a natural selection at that point.
Ice Mobility is using 5G and MEC to help with computer vision assisted product packing. By gathering data on product packing errors, in what is essentially real-time, the company has the potential to improve on-site quality assurance and save 15% to 30% in processing time.
“The goal is to make sure that the customers have the right product on their shelves when they need to sell it, and one of the ways we've always achieved this by making sure we double check every single shipment so that it has the right product in the box,” said Mohr.
“We're improving our quality control process through computer vision. We were able to do this by installing a high definition camera above every one of our pick lines. These cameras are powered by the 5G network, matching the data for a particular order to what the high definition camera is looking at inside the box. This validates that it's the right materials, and flags it up if it's not. The mech is that it literally knows the entire journey of the box.”
Verizon has partnered with TechUnited:NJ – an organization set up to help empower entrepreneurs and innovators in the New Jersey area – to create the “5G Impact Challenge”, which aims to provide a number of small businesses with new ways to use 5G technology, from solving operational pain points to improving the shopping experience for customers.
"In times like these, the world leans on technology to help us stay connected,” said TJ Fox, president of business markets at Verizon. “This is especially true for our local communities and retail shops, which is why Verizon has joined in this effort to show small businesses how 5G connectivity can open the door to new and immersive solutions as a way to interact with customers."
TechUnited worked with Verizon to select five small businesses within Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband mobility service footprint.
“Without the help of technology, we wouldn’t still be in business today,” said Dominic Yun, owner of SOHO Flower & Garden. “Prior to COVID, we had a website but didn’t do online sales. Thankfully, we were able to quickly shift to online orders which helped us stay afloat."
The companies selected for the “5G Impact Challenge” received Inseego MiFi M2100 5G hotspots and Samsung Galaxy S10 5G phones , as well as access to Verizon’s suite of small business services.
One of the most innovative 5G use cases in the scheme involved giving visitors to SOHO Flower & Garden the opportunity to view flowers in an augmented reality environment, so they could see how they were going to look before deciding to purchase them.
In 2020, Zeebrugge, one of the world’s busiest ports, with 45.8 million tons of goods annually transshipped through its docks, announced the completion of the first phase of a 5G-ready, industrial-grade private wireless network for the port.
By implementing the Nokia Digital Automation Cloud platform Zeebrugge hopes to streamline the logistical challenge of moving and tracking almost one million tons of goods each week. And the new platform will provide private wireless connectivity to more than 100 endpoints across the entire port operations.
The network is now being used for connectivity with tugboats, air pollution detectors, security cameras and quay sensors. And this partnership will enable Zeebrugge to deliver a range of new and enhanced 5G use cases to improve the port’s operational performance, and also showcase Zeebrugge as a leader in port transformation and digitalization.
And in January 2021, Terminal 5 of the Port of Seattle joined Zeebrugge in utilizing Nokia's DAC platform, working with Tideworks Technology, a provider of terminal operating technology for maritime facilities, to deploy Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) at Terminal 5, which is part of the Northwest Seaport Alliance, one of the largest container gateways in North America.
The LTE/5G private wireless network will be used to augment Wi-Fi, for enhanced redundancy and availability, and will support cable-free port and terminal operations using overlapping LTE Bands (B53 and B48). And it will be a valuable addition to Nokia’s growing list of industrial 5G use cases.
The introduction of an industrial-grade LTE/5G private wireless network will, the companies say, deliver major increases in efficiency, worker safety and terminal handling performance by “reducing the complexity of port flow”.
“These use cases illustrate the benefits of private wireless in a port or intermodal terminal operation,” said Matt Young, vice president of US Enterprise Sales, Nokia Cloud and Networking Services.
The new network will deliver connectivity indoors, and out across Terminal 5 operations, cranes, trucks and lifts, with Nokia DAC also being incorporated into ruggedized tablets and smartphones for comms and inventory applications.
Nova Southeastern University is a private Hispanic-serving multi-campus research university, with around 20,000 students, and its main campus in Fort Lauderdale-Davie, Florida, which has partnered with Mobilitie to deliver 5G to its students.
“We’re thrilled to provide our students, faculty and staff with an ultra-fast, state-of-the-art wireless network across our Davie campus,” said Tom West, Chief Information Officer of NSU.
This partnership with Mobilitie, the largest privately-held wireless infrastructure firm in the US, will enable the deployment of a cutting-edge 5G network across the Davie, Florida campus of Nova Southeastern University.
The 5G network will cover the 314-acre campus, including offices, classrooms, the library, residence halls, computer labs and athletic facilities, providing 5G access to students and faculty.
Azoomee/Da Vinci , a media company focussing on children’s entertainment, has released a new Augmented Reality (AR) experience, which enables young visitors to Vienna’s Rathaus building to experience digitally enhanced environments as they move through the building.
"Azoomee’s work in this space has been especially noted for the way it combines new technology with the city’s heritage." City of Vienna spokesperson.
“We’ve been very impressed with the quality of contributions to Vienna’s challenge to find new 5G use cases, but Azoomee’s work in this space has been especially noted for the way it combines new technology with the city’s heritage,” said Dipl.-Vw. Klemens Himpele, chief information officer (CIO) der Stadt Wien. “The way its AR app transforms the Rathaus into a digital environment that combines both fun and learning for children is the perfect example of what we hope to achieve with 5G. We are excited by the possibilities that this AR experience could be adapted to other locations both in Vienna and beyond.”
The Azoomee/Da Vinci AR app enables kids to see historical figures jumping on trampolines, playing football, and performing skateboard tricks, whilst also transforming the landscape, even placing some rooms underwater, with sub-aquatic creatures swimming around features and furniture.
At the 2021t Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Shanghai, OrionStar, a company specialising in robotics tech, launched three service robots that include Qualcomm technology, enabling 5G connectivity and enhanced AI processing capabilities.
Powered by AI tech, OrionStar’s 5G Robotic Coffee Master served up beverages to attendees visiting Qualcomm Technologies’ booth at MWC Shanghai 2021. And based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon X55 5G Modem-RF System, this 5G bot can make 1,000 cups of coffee every day.
Elsewhere, the OrionStar Restaurant Service Robot roamed the convention floor, delivering beverages to guests. Whilst the 5G HomeBot was on display at the ‘5G mmWave’ booth, where it used Qualcomm’s Robotics Platform to answer questions from guests, conduct live Q&As, and provide personalized tours.
Open Cosmos , a UK company that specializes in satellite-based technology, has launched two commercial nanosatellites, one of which is a 5G IoT satellite for telecom operator Sateliot – the first of its kind to provide continuous IoT connectivity, merging satellite and terrestrial networks under the 5G protocol.
Both nanosatellites were created entirely at the Open Cosmos HQ in Harwell, known as the heart of the UK’s space industry, with the company having dedicated £4 million in R&D to the project, courtesy of funding from the UK Space Agency and European Space Agency.
“These launches mark a major milestone for Open Cosmos, demonstrating the capacity of low-cost satellites to provide IoT connectivity to remote parts of the world and collect data,” said Rafel Jordá, founder and CEO of Open Cosmos. “With £300bn of wider UK GDP supported by satellite services, Open Cosmos is key to unlocking these services and making them more accessible for businesses and governments across the world."
5G isn't merely an iterative change in existing network technology; it's a step change of an update, which enables a plethora of new opportunities, especially for the industrial sector.
One challenge, though, is how you test whether 5G is the right technology for you, without a massive commercial investment?
Thankfully, Singte is one company addressing this problem, with the launch of GENIE, the world’s first portable 5G platform. This new 5G technology will allow enterprises to experience 5G’s capabilities and trial use cases at their own premises.
GENIE creates an independent 5G network at any location where it is deployed, without the need for prior installation of equipment or infrastructure. And it has been designed to be compact and transportable, coming in a suitcase-sized container, which consists of a 5G network control kit and a standing mount with 5G radio antenna.
Digital twin technology, as it sounds, enables you to create a digital version of a physical object or environment, which can then be interacted with remotely. This could entail the virtual recreation of a work space, where people could train safely using VR equipment, or, as is the case at Hyperbat, one of the UK’s largest independent vehicle battery manufacturers, it can be used to create ‘digital twins’ of products, which can be manipulated and viewed using VR headsets.
The Coventry-based company has partnered with BT, Ericsson and NVIDIA, to enable remote teams to connect, collaborate, and interact using a virtual 3D engineering model. And this digital twin project will be a world-first, which will allow design and engineering teams to walk around, and interact with, a 3D life-size model in real time.
Hyperbat colleagues in different locations will be able to work with a 1:1 product scale hologram of the design in-situ on the factory floor, review designs in real time, and manage workflows much more effectively.
China is currently pushing ahead of western countries with its 5G roll-out, and it has now announced the world's first wall-to-wall gigabit 5G available in an airport.
China Mobile Chengdu used Huawei's 5G distributed Massive MIMO solution to deliver 5G in the new Chengdu Tianfu International Airport. Huawei's field tests showed that the user-perceived rate across the check-in areas exceeded 1Gbps, with the single-user rate increasing by 26% on average over common 5G networks, up to a peak of 1.25Gbps.
With major airlines like Chengdu Tianfu International Airport launching 5G-based smart travel services, such as VIP recognition, luggage tracking, and AR map navigation, to improve travel experience, high 5G speed is essential. In using Huawei's digital indoor small cells combined with 5G distributed Massive MIMO software functions, Chengdu Tianfu International Airport certainly achieves this.
Constellation, a smart substation trial from UK Power Networks , will utilize Vodafone 5G connectivity to help make them more efficient, and enable the freeing up of capacity for clean energy, in a bid to help reach the UK’s target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
UK Power Networks is the UK’s biggest electricity distributor, delivering power to more than eight million homes and businesses across London, the South East, and the East of England. (Electricity network operators, unlike energy suppliers, who focus on selling electricity, take care of the maintenance and operation of power lines and substations.)
The Constellation project is a world-first in 5G use cases, and will connect parts of the UK’s electricity network with high-speed 5G connectivity, with computers being installed in electricity substations so they can communicate with each other in real-time to improve efficiency.
Initially the Constellation project team will select multiple testing locations across UK Power Networks areas in the south-east of England, and at the University of Strathclyde’s Power Networks Demonstration Centre. And the companies say that it could save 63,702 tonnes of CO2 by 2050, which is the equivalent of 38,607 return flights from London to New York.
AeroFarms and Nokia Bell Labs have announced that they have formed a multi-year partnership to combine their expertise and expand their joint capabilities in cutting-edge networking, autonomous systems, and integrated machine vision and machine learning technologies to identify and track plant interactions at the most advanced levels.
Nokia Bell Labs, the industrial research arm of Nokia, will contribute its ground-breaking autonomous drone control and orchestration systems, private wireless 5G networks, robust image and sensor data pipelines, and innovative artificial intelligence (AI) enabled mobile sensor technologies. Meanwhile, AeroFarms, a Certified B Corporation and global leader in indoor vertical farming, will contribute its commercial growing expertise, comprehensive environmental controls, an agriculture-focused data platform, and machine vision core foundation. This combination of innovative technologies allows AeroFarms to reach the next level of imaging insights that further enhance its capabilities as an industry-leading operator of world-class, fully connected smart vertical farms that grow the highest quality plants all year round.
Prosumers and business owners will need to swap their old phones for a 5G ready version. There are already several 5G smartphones on the market, and EE markets five of them (the Oppo Reno 5G, Samsung Galaxy S10 5G , LG V50 ThinQ 5G, the OnePlus 7 Pro 5G and Huawei Mate 20 X 5G ). You can also pre-order the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus. Similarly, you will also need a 5G plan, either from one of the big telecoms operators, or an MVNO. We are likely to see more offerings from mobile operators as 5G develops.
Nicola Brittain is a freelance journalist with expertise in technology, telecoms, media and finance. She worked as news and analysis editor at Computing Magazine, and more recently has freelanced for Diginomica, Investment Week and Portfolio Adviser. She is currently writing a novel.
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Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 31 , pages 585–605 ( 2021 ) Cite this article
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The increased use of radiofrequency (RF) fields above 6 GHz, particularly for the 5 G mobile phone network, has given rise to public concern about any possible adverse effects to human health. Public exposure to RF fields from 5 G and other sources is below the human exposure limits specified by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). This state-of-the science review examined the research into the biological and health effects of RF fields above 6 GHz at exposure levels below the ICNIRP occupational limits. The review included 107 experimental studies that investigated various bioeffects including genotoxicity, cell proliferation, gene expression, cell signalling, membrane function and other effects. Reported bioeffects were generally not independently replicated and the majority of the studies employed low quality methods of exposure assessment and control. Effects due to heating from high RF energy deposition cannot be excluded from many of the results. The review also included 31 epidemiological studies that investigated exposure to radar, which uses RF fields above 6 GHz similar to 5 G. The epidemiological studies showed little evidence of health effects including cancer at different sites, effects on reproduction and other diseases. This review showed no confirmed evidence that low-level RF fields above 6 GHz such as those used by the 5 G network are hazardous to human health. Future experimental studies should improve the experimental design with particular attention to dosimetry and temperature control. Future epidemiological studies should continue to monitor long-term health effects in the population related to wireless telecommunications.
Introduction.
There are continually emerging technologies that use radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields particularly in telecommunications. Most telecommunication sources currently operate at frequencies below 6 GHz, including radio and TV broadcasting and wireless sources such as local area networks and mobile telephony. With the increasing demand for higher data rates, better quality of service and lower latency to users, future wireless telecommunication sources are planned to operate at frequencies above 6 GHz and into the ‘millimetre wave’ range (30–300 GHz) [ 1 ]. Frequencies above 6 GHz have been in use for many years in various applications such as radar, microwave links, airport security screening and in medicine for therapeutic applications. However, the planned use of millimetre waves by future wireless telecommunications, particularly the 5th generation (5 G) of mobile networks, has given rise to public concern about any possible adverse effects to human health.
The interaction mechanisms of RF fields with the human body have been extensively described and tissue heating is the main effect for RF fields above 100 kHz (e.g. HPA; SCENHIR) [ 2 , 3 ]. RF fields become less penetrating into body tissue with increasing frequency and for frequencies above 6 GHz the depth of penetration is relatively short with surface heating being the predominant effect [ 4 ].
International exposure guidelines for RF fields have been developed on the basis of current scientific knowledge to ensure that RF exposure is not harmful to human health [ 5 , 6 ]. The guidelines developed by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) in particular form the basis for regulations in the majority of countries worldwide [ 7 ]. In the frequency range above 6 GHz and up to 300 GHz the ICNIRP guidelines prevent excessive heating at the surface of the skin and in the eye.
Although not as extensively studied as RF fields at lower frequencies, a number of studies have investigated the effects of RF fields at frequencies above 6 GHz. Previous reviews have reported studies investigating frequencies above 6 GHz that show effects although many of the reported effects occurred at levels greater than the ICNIRP guidelines [ 1 , 8 ]. Given the public concern over the planned roll-out of 5 G using millimetre waves, it is important to determine whether there are any related adverse health consequences at levels encountered in the environment. The aim of this paper is to present a state-of-the-science review of the bioeffects research into RF fields above 6 GHz at low levels of exposure (exposure below the occupational limits of the ICNIRP guidelines). A meta-analysis of in vitro and in vivo studies, providing quantitative effect estimates for each study, is presented separately in a companion paper [ 9 ].
The state-of-the-science review included a comprehensive search of all available literature and examined the extent, range and nature of evidence into the bioeffects of RF fields above 6 GHz, at levels below the ICNIRP occupational limits. The review consisted of biomedical studies on low-level RF electromagnetic fields from 6 GHz to 300 GHz published at any starting date up to December 2019. Studies were initially found by searching the databases PubMed, EMF-Portal, Google Scholar, Embase and Web of Science using the search terms “millimeter wave”, “millimetre wave”, “gigahertz”, “GHz” and “radar”. We further searched major reviews published by health authorities on RF and health [ 2 , 3 , 10 , 11 ]. Finally, we searched the reference list of all the studies included. Studies were only included if the full paper was available in English.
Although over 300 studies were considered, this review was limited to experimental studies (in vitro, in vivo, human) where the stated RF exposure level was at or below the occupational whole-body limits specified by the ICNIRP (2020) guidelines: power density (PD) reference level of 50 W/m 2 or specific absorption rate (SAR) basic restriction of 0.4 W/kg. Since the PD occupational limits for local exposure are more relevant to in vitro studies, and since these limits are higher, we have included those studies with PD up to 100–200 W/m 2 , depending on frequency. The review included studies below the ICNIRP general public limits that are lower than the occupational limits.
The review also included epidemiological studies (cohort, case-control, cross-sectional) investigating exposure to radar but excluded studies where the stated radar frequencies were below 6 GHz. Epidemiological studies on radar were included as they represent occupational exposure below the ICNIRP guidelines. Case reports or case series were excluded. Studies investigating therapeutical outcomes were also excluded unless they reported specific bio-effects.
The state-of-the-science review appraised the quality of the included studies, but unlike a systematic review it did not exclude any studies based on quality. The review also identified gaps in knowledge for future investigation and research. The reporting of results in this paper is narrative with tabular accompaniment showing study characteristics. In this paper, the acronym “MMWs” (or millimetre waves) is used to denote RF fields above 6 GHz.
The review included 107 experimental studies (91 in vitro, 15 in vivo, and 1 human) that investigated various bioeffects, including genotoxicity, cell proliferation, gene expression, cell signalling, membrane function and other effects. The exposure characteristics and biological system investigated in experimental studies for the various bioeffects are shown in Tables 1 – 6 . The results of the meta-analysis of the in vitro and in vivo studies are presented separately in Wood et al. [ 9 ].
Studies have examined the effects of exposing whole human or mouse blood samples or lymphocytes and leucocytes to low-level MMWs to determine possible genotoxicity. Some of the genotoxicity studies have looked at the possible effects of MMWs on chromosome aberrations [ 12 , 13 , 14 ]. At exposure levels below the ICNIRP limits, the results have been inconsistent, with either a statistically significant increase [ 14 ] or no significant increase [ 12 , 13 ] in chromosome aberrations.
MMWs do not penetrate past the skin therefore epithelial and skin cells have been a common model of examination for possible genotoxic effects. DNA damage in a number of epithelial and skin cell types and at varied exposure parameters both below and above the ICNIRP limits have been examined using comet assays [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ]. Despite the varied exposure models and methods used, no statistically significant evidence of DNA damage was identified in these studies. Evidence of genotoxic damage was further assessed in skin cells by the occurrence of micro-nucleation. De Amicis et al. [ 18 ] and Franchini et al. [ 19 ] reported a statistically significant increase in micro-nucleation, however, Hintzsche et al. [ 15 ] and Koyama et al. [ 16 , 17 ] did not find an effect. Two of the studies also examined telomere length and found no statistically significant difference between exposed and unexposed cells [ 15 , 19 ]. Last, a Ukrainian research group examined different skin cell types in three studies and reported an increase in chromosome condensation in the nucleus [ 20 , 21 , 22 ]; these results have not been independently verified. Overall, there was no confirmed evidence of MMWs causing genotoxic damage in epithelial and skin cells.
Three studies from an Indian research group have examined indicators of DNA damage and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in rats exposed in vivo to MMWs. The studies reported DNA strand breaks based on evidence from comet assays [ 23 , 24 ] and changes in enzymes that control the build-up of ROS [ 24 ]. Kumar et al. also reported an increase in ROS production [ 25 ]. All the studies from this research group had low animal numbers (six animals exposed) and their results have not been independently replicated. An in vitro study that investigated ROS production in yeast cultures reported an increase in free radicals exposed to high-level but not low-level MMWs [ 26 ].
Other studies have looked at the effect of low-level MMWs on DNA in a range of different ways. Two studies reported that MMWs induce colicin synthesis and prophage induction in bacterial cells, both of which are suggested as indicative of DNA damage [ 27 , 28 ]. Another study suggested that DNA exposed to MMWs undergoes polymerase chain reaction synthesis differently than unexposed DNA [ 29 ], although no statistical analysis was presented. Hintzsche et al. reported statistically significant occurrence of spindle disturbance in hybrid cells exposed to MMWs [ 30 ]. Zeni et al. found no evidence of DNA damage or alteration of cell cycle kinetics in blood cells exposed to MMWs [ 31 ]. Last, two studies from a Russian research group examined the protective effects of MMWs where mouse blood leukocytes were pre-exposed to low-level MMWs and then to X-rays [ 32 , 33 ]. The studies reported that there was statistically significant less DNA damage in the leucocytes that were pre-exposed to MMWs than those exposed to X-rays alone. Overall, these studies had no independent replication.
A number of studies have examined the effects of low-level MMWs on cell proliferation and they have used a variety of cellular models and methods of investigation. Studies have exposed bacterial cells to low-level MMWs alone or in conjunction with other agents. Two early studies reported changes in the growth rate of E. coli cultures exposed to low-level MMWs; however, both of these studies were preliminary in nature without appropriate dosimetry or statistical analysis [ 34 , 35 ]. Two studies exposed E. coli cultures and one study exposed yeast cell cultures to MMWs alone, and before and after UVC exposure [ 36 , 37 , 38 ]. All three studies reported that MMWs alone had no significant effect on bacterial cell proliferation or survival. Rojavin et al., however, did report that when E. coli bacteria were exposed to MMWs after UVC sterilisation treatment, there was an increase in their survival rate [ 36 ]. The authors suggested this could be due to the MMW activation of bacterial DNA repair mechanisms. Other studies by an Armenian research group reported a reduction in E. coli cell growth when exposed to MMWs [ 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 ]. These studies reported that when E.coli cultures were exposed to MMWs in the presence of antibiotics, there was a greater reduction in the bacterial growth rate and an increase in the time between bacterial cell division compared with antibiotics exposure alone. Two of these studies investigated if these effects could be due to a reduction in the activity of the E. coli ATPase when exposed to MMWs. The studies reported exposure to MMWs in combination with particular antibiotics changed the concentration of H + and K + ions in the E.coli cells, which the authors linked to changes in ATPase activity [ 43 , 44 ]. Overall, the results from studies on cell proliferation of bacterial cells have been inconsistent with different research groups reporting conflicting results.
Studies have also examined how exposure to low-level MMWs could affect cell proliferation in yeast. Two early studies by a German research group reported changes in yeast cell growth [ 46 , 47 ]. However, another two independent studies did not report any changes in the growth rate of exposed yeast [ 48 , 49 ]. Furia et al. [ 48 ] noted that the Grundler and Keilmann studies [ 46 , 47 ] had a number of methodical issues, which may have skewed their results, such as poor exposure control and analysis of results. Another study exposed yeast to MMWs before and after UVC exposure and reported that MMWs did not change the rates of cell survival [ 37 ].
Studies have also examined the possible effect of low-level MMWs on tumour cells with some studies reporting a possible anti-proliferative effect. Chidichimo et al. reported a reduction in the growth of a variety of tumour cells exposed to MMWs; however, the results of the study did not support this conclusion [ 50 ]. An Italian research group published a number of studies investigating proliferation effects on human melanoma cell lines with conflicting results. Two of the studies reported reduced growth rate [ 51 , 52 ] and a third study showed no change in proliferation or in the cell cycle [ 53 ]. Beneduci et al. also reported changes in the morphology of MMW exposed cells; however, the authors did not present quantitative data for these reported changes [ 51 , 52 ]. In another study by the same Italian group, Beneduci et al. reported that exposure to low-level MMWs had a greater than 40% reduction in the number of viable erythromyeloid leukaemia cells compared with controls; however, there was no significant change in the number of dead cells [ 54 ]. More recently, Yaekashiwa et al. reported no statistically significant effect in proliferation or cellular activity in glioblastoma cells exposed to low-level MMWs [ 55 ].
Other studies did not report statistically significant effects on proliferation in chicken embryo cell cultures, rat nerve cells or human skin fibroblasts exposed to low-level MMWs [ 55 , 56 , 57 ].
Some studies have investigated whether low-level MMWs can influence gene expression. Le Queument et al. examined a multitude of genes using microarray analyses and reported transient expression changes in five of them. However, the authors concluded that these results were extremely minor, especially when compared with studies using microarrays to study known pollutants [ 58 ]. Studies by a French research group have examined the effect of MMWs on stress sensitive genes, stress sensitive gene promotors and chaperone proteins in human glial cell lines. In two studies, glial cells were exposed to low-level MMWs and there was no observed modification in the expression of stress sensitive gene promotors when compared with sham exposed cells [ 59 , 60 , 61 ]. Further, glial cells were examined for the expression of the chaperone protein clusterin (CLU) and heat shock protein HSP70. These proteins are activated in times of cellular stress to maintain protein functions and help with the repair process [ 60 ]. There was no observed modification in gene expression of the chaperone proteins. Other studies have examined the endoplasmic reticulum of glial cells exposed to MMWs [ 62 , 63 ]. The endoplasmic reticulum is the site of synthesis and folding of secreted proteins and has been shown to be sensitive to environmental insults [ 62 ]. The authors reported that there was no elevation in mRNA expression levels of endoplasmic reticulum specific chaperone proteins. Studies of stress sensitive genes in glial cells have consistently shown no modification due to low-level MMW exposure [ 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 ].
Belyaev and co-authors have studied a possible resonance effect of low-level MMWs primarily on Escherichia Coli (E. coli) cells and cultures. The Belyaev research group reported that the resonance effect of MMWs can change the conformation state of chromosomal DNA complexes [ 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 ]; however, most of these experiments were not temperature controlled. This resonance effect was not supported by earlier experiments on a number of different cell types conducted by Gandhi et al. and Bush et al. [ 75 , 76 ].
The results of Belyaev and co-workers have primarily been based on evidence from the anomalous viscosity time dependence (AVTD) method [ 77 ]. The research group argued that changes in the AVTD curve can indicate changes to the DNA conformation state and DNA-protein bonds. Belyaev and co-workers have reported in a number of studies that differences in the AVTD curve were dependent on several parameter including MMW characteristics (frequency, exposure level, and polarisation), cellular concentration and cell growth rate [ 69 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 ]. In some of the Belyaev studies E. coli were pre-exposed to X-rays, which was reported to change the AVTD curve; however, if the cells were then exposed to MMWs there was no longer a change in the AVTD curve [ 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 ]. The authors suggested that exposure to MMWs increased the rate of recovery in bacterial cells previously exposed to ionising radiation. The Belyaev group also used rat thymocytes in another study and they concluded that the results closely paralleled those found in E. coli cells [ 67 ]. The studies on the DNA conformation state change relied heavily on the AVTD method that has only been used by the Balyaev group and has not been independently validated [ 78 ].
Studies examining effects of low-level MMWs on cell signalling have mainly involved MMW exposure to nervous system tissue of various animals. An in vivo study on rats recorded extracellular background electrical spike activity from neurons in the supraoptic nucleus of the hypothalamus after MMW exposure [ 79 ]. The study reported that there were changes in inter-spike interval and spike activity in the cells of exposed animals when compared with controls. There was also a mixture of significant shifts in neuron population proportions and spike frequency. The effect on the regularity of neuron spike activity was greater at higher frequencies. An in vitro study on rat cortical tissue slices reported that neuron firing rates decreased in half of the samples exposed to low-level MMWs [ 80 ]. The width of the signals was also decreased but all effects were short lived. The observed changes were not consistent between the two studies, but this could be a consequence of different brain regions being studied.
In vitro experiments by a Japanese research group conducted on crayfish exposed the dissected optical components and brain to MMWs [ 81 , 82 ]. Munemori and Ikeda reported that there was no significant change in the inter-spike intervals or amplitude of spontaneous discharges [ 81 ]. However, there was a change in the distribution of inter-spike intervals where the initial standard deviation decreased and then restored in a short time to a rhythm comparable to the control. A follow-up study on the same tissues and a wide range of exposure levels (many above the ICNIRP limits) reported similar results with the distribution of spike intervals decreasing with increasing exposure level [ 82 ]. These results on action potentials in crayfish tissue have not been independently investigated.
Mixed results were reported in experiments conducted by a US research group on sciatic frog nerve preparations. These studies applied electrical stimulation to the nerve and examined the effect of MMWs on the compound action potentials (CAPs) conductivity through the neurological tissue fibre. Pakhomov et al. found a reduction in CAP latency accompanied by an amplitude increase for MMWs above the ICNIRP limits but not for low-level MMWs [ 83 ]. However, in two follow-up studies, Pakhomov et al. reported that the attenuation in amplitude of test CAPs caused by high-rate stimulus was significantly reduced to the same magnitude at various MMW exposure levels [ 84 , 85 ]. In all of these studies, the observed effect on the CAPs was temporal and reversible, but there were implications of a frequency specific resonance interaction with the nervous tissue. These results on action potentials in frog sciatic nerves have not been investigated by others.
Other common experimental systems involved low-level MMW exposure to isolated ganglia of leeches. Pikov and Siegel reported that there was a decrease in the firing rate in one of the tested neurons and, through the measurement of input resistance in an inserted electrode, there was a transient dose-dependent change in membrane permeability [ 86 ]. However, Romanenko et al. found that low-level MMWs did not cause suppression of neuron firing rate [ 87 ]. Further experiments by Romanenko et al. reported that MMWs at the ICNIRP public exposure limit and above reported similar action potential firing rate suppression [ 88 ]. Significant differences were reported between MMW effects and effects due to an equivalent rise in temperature caused by heating the bathing solution by conventional means.
Studies examining membrane interactions with low-level MMWs have all been conducted at frequencies above 40 GHz in in vitro experiments. A number of studies investigated membrane phase transitions involving exposure to a range of phospholipid vesicles prepared to mimic biological cell membranes. One group of studies by an Italian research group reported effects on membrane hydration dynamics and phase transition [ 89 , 90 , 91 ]. Observations included transition delays from the gel to liquid phase or vice versa when compared with sham exposures maintained at the same temperature; the effect was reversed after exposure. These reported changes remain unconfirmed by independent groups.
A number of studies investigated membrane permeability. One study focussed on Ca 2+ activated K + channels on the membrane surface of cultured kidney cells of African Green Marmosets [ 92 ]. The study reported modifications to the Hill coefficient and apparent affinity of the Ca 2+ by the K + channels. Another study reported that the effectiveness of a chemical to supress membrane permeability in the gap junction was transiently reduced when the cells were exposed to MMWs [ 93 , 94 ]. Two studies by one research group reported increases in the movement of molecules into skin cells during MMW exposure and suggested this indicates increased cell membrane permeability [ 21 , 91 ]. Permeability changes based on membrane pressure differences were also investigated in relation to phospholipid organisation [ 95 ]. Although there was no evidence of effects on phospholipid organisation on exposed model membranes, the authors reported a measurable difference in membrane pressure at low exposure levels. Another study reported neuron shrinkage and dehydration of brain tissues [ 96 ]. The study reported this was due to influences of low-level MMWs on the cellular bathing medium and intracellular water. Further, the authors suggested this influence of MMWs may have led to formation of unknown messengers, which are able to modulate brain cell hydration. A study using an artificial axon system consisting of a network of cells containing aqueous phospholipid vesicles reported permeability changes with exposure to MMWs by measuring K + efflux [ 97 ]. In this case, the authors emphasised limitations in applying this model to processes within a living organism. The varied effects of low-level MMWs on membrane permeability lack replication.
Other studies have examined the shape or size of vesicles to determine possible effects on membrane permeability. Ramundo-Orlando et al., reported effects on the shape of giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs), specifically elongation, attributed to permeability changes [ 98 ]. However, another study reported that only smaller diameter vesicles demonstrated a statistically significant change when exposed to MMWs [ 99 ]. A study by Cosentino et al. examined the effect of MMWs on the size distributions of both large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs) and GUVs in in vitro preparations [ 100 ]. It was reported that size distribution was only affected when the vesicles were under osmotic stress, resulting in a statistically significant reduction in their size. In this case, the effect was attributed to dehydration as a result of membrane permeability changes. There is, generally, lack of replication on physical changes to phospholipid vesicles due to low-level MMWs.
Studies on E. coli and E. hirae cultures have reported resonance effects on membrane proteins and phospholipid constituents or within the media suspension [ 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ]. These studies observed cell proliferation effects such as changes to cell growth rate, viability and lag phase duration. These effects were reported to be more pronounced at specific MMW frequencies. The authors suggested this could be due to a resonance effect on the cell membrane or the suspension medium. Torgomyan et al. and Hovnanyan et al. reported similar changes to proliferation that they attributed to changes in membrane permeability from MMW exposure [ 43 , 45 ]. These experiments were all conducted by an Armenian research group and have not been replicated by others.
A number of studies have reported on the experimental results of other effects. Reproductive effects were examined in three studies on mice, rats and human spermatozoa. An in vivo study on mice exposed to low-level MMWs reported that spermatogonial cells had significantly more metaphase translocation disturbances than controls and an increased number of cells with unpaired chromosomes [ 101 ]. Another in vivo study on rats reported increased morphological abnormalities to spermatozoa following exposure, however, there was no statistical analysis presented [ 102 ]. Conversely, an in vitro study on human spermatozoa reported that there was an increase in motility after a short time of exposure to MMWs with no changes in membrane integrity and no generation of apoptosis [ 103 ]. All three of these studies looked at different effects on spermatozoa making it difficult to make an overall conclusion. A further two studies exposed rats to MMWs and examined their sperm for indicators of ROS production. One study reported both increases and decreases in enzymes that control the build-up of ROS [ 104 ]. The other study reported a decrease in the activity of histone kinase and an increase in ROS [ 105 ]. Both studies had low animal numbers (six animals exposed) and these results have not been independently replicated.
Immune function was also examined in a limited number of studies focussing on the effects of low-level MMWs on antigens and antibody systems. Three studies by a Russian research group that exposed neutrophils to MMWs reported frequency dependant changes in ROS production [ 106 , 107 , 108 ]. Another study reported a statistically significant decrease in antigen binding to antibodies when exposed to MMWs [ 109 ]; the study also reported that exposure decreased the stability of previously formed antigen–antibody complexes.
The effect on fatty acid composition in mice exposed to MMWs has been examined by a Russian research group using a number of experimental methods [ 110 , 111 , 112 ]. One study that exposed mice afflicted with an inflammatory condition to low-level MMWs reported no change in the fatty acid concentrations in the blood plasma. However, there was a significant increase in the omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid content of the thymus [ 110 ]. Another study exposed tumour-bearing mice and reported that monounsaturated fatty acids decreased and polyunsaturated fatty acids increased in both the thymus and tumour tissue. These changes resulted in fatty acid composition of the thymus tissue more closely resembling that of the healthy control animals [ 111 ]. The authors also examined the effect of exposure to X-rays of healthy mice, which was reported to reduce the total weight of the thymus. However, when the thymus was exposed to MMWs before or after exposure to X-rays, the fatty acid content was restored and was no longer significantly different from controls [ 112 ]. Overall, the authors reported a potential protective effect of MMWs on the recovery of fatty acids, however, all the results came from the same research group with a lack of replication from others.
Physiological effects were examined by a study conducted on mice exposed to WWMs to assess the safety of police radar [ 113 ]. The authors reported no statistically significant changes in the physiological parameters tested, which included body mass and temperature, peripheral blood and the mass and cellular composition, and number of cells in several important organs. Another study exposing human volunteers to low-level MMWs specifically examined cardiovascular function of exposed and sham exposed groups by electrocardiogram (ECG) and atrioventricular conduction velocity derivation [ 114 ]. This study reported that there were no significant differences in the physiological indicators assessed in test subjects.
Other individual studies have looked at various other effects. An early study reported differences in the attenuation of MMWs at specific frequencies in healthy and tumour cells [ 115 ]. Another early study reported no effect in the morphology of BHK-21/C13 cell cultures when exposed to low-level MMWs; the study did report morphological changes at higher levels, which were related to heating [ 116 ]. One study examined whether low-level MMWs induced cancer promotion in leukaemia and Lewis tumour cell grafted mice. The study reported no statistically significant growth promotion in either of the grafted cancer cell types [ 117 ]. Another study looked at the activity of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase enzyme in rats after treatment with hydrocortisone and exposure to MMWs [ 118 ]. The study reported no effects at exposures below the ICNIRP limit, however, at levels above authors reported a range of effects. Another study exposed saline liquid solutions to continuous low and high level MMWs and reported temperature oscillations within the liquid medium but lacked a statistical analysis [ 119 ]. Another study reported that low-level MMWs decrease the mobility of the protozoa S. ambiguum offspring [ 120 ]. None of the reported effects in all of these other studies have been investigated elsewhere.
There are no epidemiological studies that have directly investigated 5 G and potential health effects. There are however epidemiological studies that have looked at occupational exposure to radar, which could potentially include the frequency range from 6 to 300 GHz. Epidemiological studies on radar were included as they represent occupational exposure below the ICNIRP guidelines. The review included 31 epidemiological studies (8 cohort, 13 case-control, 9 cross-sectional and 1 meta-analysis) that investigated exposure to radar and various health outcomes including cancer at different sites, effects on reproduction and other diseases. The risk estimates as well as limitations of the epidemiological studies are shown in Table 7 .
Three large cohort studies investigated mortality in military personnel with potential exposure to MMWs from radar. Studies reporting on over 40-year follow-up of US navy veterans of the Korean War found that radar exposure had little effect on all-cause or cancer mortality with the second study reporting risk estimates below unity [ 121 , 122 ]. Similarly, in a 40-year follow-up of Belgian military radar operators, there was no statistically significant increase in all-cause mortality [ 123 , 124 ]; the study did, however, find a small increase in cancer mortality. More recently in a 25-year follow-up of military personnel who served in the French Navy, there was no increase in all-cause or cancer mortality for personnel exposed to radar [ 125 ]. The main limitation in the cohort studies was the lack of individual levels of RF exposure with most studies based on job-title. Comparisons were made between occupations with presumed high exposure to RF fields and other occupations with presumed lower exposure. This type of non-differential misclassification in dichotomous exposure assessment is associated mostly with an effect measure biased towards a null effect if there is a true effect of RF fields. If there is no true effect of RF fields, non-differential exposure misclassification will not bias the effect estimate (which will be close to the null value, but may vary because of random error). The military personnel in these studies were compared with the general population and this ‘healthy worker effect’ presents possible bias since military personnel are on average in better health than the general population; the healthy worker effect tends to underestimate the risk. The cohort studies also lacked information on possible confounding factors including other occupational exposures such as chemicals and lifestyle factors such as smoking.
Several epidemiological studies have specifically investigated radar exposure and testicular cancer. In a case-control study where most of the subjects were selected from military hospitals in Washington DC, USA, Hayes et al. found no increased risk between exposure to radar and testicular cancer [ 126 ]; exposure to radar was self-reported and thus subject to misclassification. In this study, the misclassification was likely non-differential, biasing the result towards the null. Davis and Mostofi reported a cluster of testicular cancer within a small cohort of 340 police officers in Washington State (USA) where the cases routinely used handheld traffic radar guns [ 127 ]; however, exposure was not assessed for the full cohort, which may have overestimated the risk. In a population-based case-control study conducted in Sweden, Hardell et al. did not find a statistically significant association between radar work and testicular cancer; however, the result was based on only five radar workers questioning the validity of this result [ 128 ]. In a larger population-based case control study in Germany, Baumgardt-Elms et al. also reported no association between working near radar units (both self-reported and expert assessed) and testicular cancer [ 129 ]; a limitation of this study was the low participation of identified controls (57%), however, there was no difference compared with the characteristics of the cases so selection bias was unlikely. In the cohort study of US navy veterans previously mentioned exposure to radar was not associated with testicular cancer [ 122 ]; the limitations of this cohort study mentioned earlier may have underestimated the risk. Finally, in a hospital-based case-control study in France, radar workers were also not associated with risk of testicular cancer [ 130 ]; a limitation was the low participation of controls (37%) with a difference in education level between participating and non-participating controls, which may have underestimated this result.
A limited number of studies have investigated radar exposure and brain cancer. In a nested case-control study within a cohort of male US Air Force personnel, Grayson reported a small association between brain cancer and RF exposure, which included radar [ 131 ]; no potential confounders were included in the analysis, which may have overestimated the result. However, in a case-control study of personnel in the Brazilian Navy, Santana et al. reported no association between naval occupations likely to be exposed to radar and brain cancer [ 132 ]; the small number of cases and lack of diagnosis confirmation may have biased the results towards the null. All of the cohort studies on military personnel previously mentioned also examined brain cancer mortality and found no association with exposure to radar [ 122 , 124 , 125 ].
A limited number of studies have investigated radar exposure and ocular cancer. Holly et al. in a population-based case-control study in the US reported an association between self-reported exposure to radar or microwaves and uveal melanoma [ 133 ]; the study investigated many different exposures and the result is prone to multiple testing. In another case-control study, which used both hospital and population controls, Stang et al. did not find an association between self-reported exposure to radar and uveal melanoma [ 134 ]; a high non-response in the population controls (52%) and exposure misclassification may have underestimated this result. The cohort studies of the Belgian military and French navy also found no association between exposure to radar and ocular cancer [ 124 , 125 ].
A few other studies have examined the potential association between radar and other cancers. In a hospital-based case-control study in Italy, La Vecchia investigated 14 occupational agents and risk of bladder cancer and found no association with radar, although no risk estimate was reported [ 135 ]; non-differential self-reporting of exposure may have underestimated this finding if there is a true effect. Finkelstein found an increased risk for melanoma in a large cohort of Ontario police officers exposed to traffic radar and followed for 31 years [ 136 ]; there was significant loss to follow up which may have biased this result in either direction. Finkelstein found no statistically significant associations with other types of cancer and the study reported a statistically significant risk estimate just below unity for all cancers, which is reflective of the healthy worker effect [ 136 ]. In a large population-based case-control study in France, Fabbro-Peray et al. investigated a large number of occupational and environmental risk factors in relation to non-Hodgkin lymphoma and found no association with radar operators based on job-title; however, the result was based on a small number of radar operators [ 137 ]. The cohort studies on military personnel did not find statistically significant associations between exposure to radar and other cancers [ 122 , 124 , 125 ].
Variani et al. conducted a recent systematic review and meta-analysis investigating occupational exposure to radar and cancer risk [ 138 ]. The meta-analysis included three cohort studies [ 122 , 124 , 125 ] and three case-control studies [ 129 , 130 , 131 ] for a total sample size of 53,000 subjects. The meta-analysis reported a decrease in cancer risk for workers exposed to radar but noted the small number of studies included with significant heterogeneity between the studies.
Apart from cancer, a number of epidemiological studies have investigated radar exposure and reproductive outcomes. Two early studies on military personnel in the US [ 139 ] and Denmark [ 140 ] reported differences in semen parameters between personnel using radar and personnel on other duty assignments; these studies included only volunteers with potential fertility concerns and are prone to bias. A further volunteer study on US military personnel did not find a difference in semen parameters in a similar comparison [ 141 ]; in general these type of cross-sectional investigations on volunteers provide limited evidence on possible risk. In a case-control study of personnel in the French military, Velez de la Calle et al. reported no association between exposure to radar and male infertility [ 142 ]; non-differential self-reporting of exposure may have underestimated this finding if there is a true effect. In two separate cross-sectional studies of personnel in the Norwegian navy, Baste et al. and Møllerløkken et al. reported an association between exposure to radar and male infertility, but there has been no follow up cohort or case control studies to confirm these results [ 143 , 144 ].
Again considering reproduction, a number of studies investigated pregnancy and offspring outcomes. In a population-based case-control study conducted in the US and Canada, De Roos et al. found no statistically significant association between parental occupational exposure to radar and neuroblastoma in offspring; however, the result was based on a small number of cases and controls exposed to radar [ 145 ]. In another cross-sectional study of the Norwegian navy, Mageroy et al. reported a higher risk of congenital anomalies in the offspring of personnel who were exposed to radar; the study found positive associations with a large number of other chemical and physical exposures, but the study involved multiple comparisons so is prone to over-interpretation [ 146 ]. Finally, a number of pregnancy outcomes were investigated in a cohort study of Norwegian navy personnel enlisted between 1950 and 2004 [ 147 ]. The study reported an increase in perinatal mortality for parental service aboard fast patrol boats during a short period (3 months); exposure to radar was one of many possible exposures when serving on fast patrol boats and the result is prone to multiple testing. No associations were found between long-term exposure and any pregnancy outcomes.
There is limited research investigating exposure to radar and other diseases. In a large case-control study of US military veterans investigating a range of risk factors and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Beard et al. did not find a statistically significant association with radar [ 148 ]; the study reported a likely under-ascertainment of non-exposed cases, which may have biased the result away from the null. The cohort studies on military personnel did not find statistically significant associations between exposure to radar and other diseases [ 122 , 124 , 125 ].
A number of observational studies have investigated outcomes measured on volunteers in the laboratory. They are categorised as epidemiological studies because exposure to radar was not based on provocation. These studies investigated genotoxicity [ 149 ], oxidative stress [ 149 ], cognitive effects [ 150 ] and endocrine function [ 151 ]; the studies generally reported positive associations with radar. These volunteer studies did not sample from a defined population and are prone to bias [ 152 ].
The experimental studies investigating exposure to MMWs at levels below the ICNIRP occupational limits have looked at a variety of biological effects. Genotoxicity was mainly examined by using comet assays of exposed cells. This approach has consistently found no evidence of DNA damage in skin cells in well-designed studies. However, animal studies conducted by one research group reported DNA strand breaks and changes in enzymes that control the build-up of ROS, noting that these studies had low animal numbers (six animals exposed); these results have not been independently replicated. Studies have also investigated other indications of genotoxicity including chromosome aberrations, micro-nucleation and spindle disturbances. The methods used to investigate these indicators have generally been rigorous; however, the studies have reported contradictory results. Two studies by a Russian research group have also reported indicators of DNA damage in bacteria, however, these results have not been verified by other investigators.
The studies of the effect of MMWs on cell proliferation primarily focused on bacteria, yeast cells and tumour cells. Studies of bacteria were mainly from an Armenian research group that reported a reduction in the bacterial growth rate of exposed E. coli cells at different MMW frequencies; however, the studies suffered from inadequate dosimetry and temperature control and heating due to high RF energy deposition may have contributed to the results. Other authors have reported no effect of MMWs on E. coli cell growth rate. The results on cell proliferation of yeast exposed to MMWs were also contradictory. An Italian research group that has conducted the majority of the studies on tumour cells reported either a reduction or no change in the proliferation of exposed cells; however, these studies also suffered from inadequate dosimetry and temperature control.
The studies on gene expression mainly examined two different indicators, expression of stress sensitive genes and chaperone proteins and the occurrence of a resonance effect in cells to explain DNA conformation state changes. Most studies reported no effect of low-level MMWs on the expression of stress sensitive genes or chaperone proteins using a range of experimental methods to confirm these results; noting that these studies did not use blinding so experimental bias cannot be excluded from the results. A number of studies from a Russian research group reported a resonance effect of MMWs, which they propose can change the conformation state of chromosomal DNA complexes. Their results relied heavily on the AVTD method for testing changes in the DNA conformation state, however, the biological relevance of results obtained through the AVTD method has not been independently validated.
Studies on cell signalling and electrical activity reported a range of different outcomes including increases or decreases in signal amplitude and changes in signal rhythm, with no consistent effect noting the lack of blinding in most of the studies. Further, temperature contributions could not be eliminated from the studies and in some cases thermal interactions by conventional heating were studied and found to differ from the MMW effects. The results from some studies were based on small sample sizes, some being confined to a single specimen, or by observed effects only occurring in a small number of the samples tested. Overall, the reported electrical activity effects could not be dismissed as being within normal variability. This is indicated by studies reporting the restoration of normal function within a short time during ongoing exposure. In this case there is no implication of an expected negative health outcome.
Studies on membrane effects examined changes in membrane properties and permeability. Some studies observed changes in transitions from liquid to gel phase or vice versa and the authors implied that MMWs influenced cell hydration, however the statistical methods used in these studies were not described so it is difficult to examine the validity of these results. Other studies observing membrane properties in artificial cell suspensions and dissected tissue reported changes in vesicle shape, reduced cell volume and morphological changes although most of these studies suffered from various methodological problems including poor temperature control and no blinding. Experiments on bacteria and yeast were conducted by the same research group reporting changes in membrane permeability, which was attributed to cell proliferation effects, however, the studies suffered from inadequate dosimetry and temperature control. Overall, although there were a variety of membrane bioeffects reported, these have not been independently replicated.
The limited number of studies on a number of other effects from exposure to MMWs below the ICNIRP limits generally reported little to no consistent effects. The single in vivo study on cancer promotion did not find an effect although the study did not include sham controls. Effects on reproduction were contradictory that may have been influenced by opposing objectives of examining adverse health effects or infertility treatment. Further, the only study on human sperm found no effects of low-level MMWs. The studies on reproduction suffered from inadequate dosimetry and temperature control, and since sperm is sensitive to temperature, the effect of heating due to high RF energy deposition may have contributed to the studies showing an effect. A number of studies from two research groups reported effects on ROS production in relation to reproduction and immune function; the in vivo studies had low animal numbers (six animals per exposure) and the in vitro studies generally had inadequate dosimetry and temperature control. Studies on fatty acid composition and physiological indicators did not generally show any effects; poor temperature control was also a problem in the majority of these studies. A number of other studies investigating various other biological effects reported mixed results.
Although a range of bioeffects have been reported in many of the experimental studies, the results were generally not independently reproduced. Approximately half of the studies were from just five laboratories and several studies represented a collaboration between one or more laboratories. The exposure characteristics varied considerably among the different studies with studies showing the highest effect size clustered around a PD of approximately 1 W/m 2 . The meta-analysis of the experimental studies in our companion paper [ 9 ] showed that there was no dose-response relationship between the exposure (either PD or SAR) and the effect size. In fact, studies with a higher exposure tended to show a lower effect size, which is counterfactual. Most of the studies showing a large effect size were conducted in the frequency range around 40–55 GHz, representing investigations into the use of MMWs for therapeutic purposes, rather than deleterious health consequences. Future experimental research would benefit from investigating bioeffects at the specific frequency range of the next stage of the 5 G network roll-out in the range 26–28 GHz. Mobile communications beyond the 5 G network plan to use frequencies higher than 30 GHz so research across the MMW band is relevant.
An investigation into the methods of the experimental studies showed that the majority of studies were lacking in a number of quality criteria including proper attention to dosimetry, incorporating positive controls, using blind evaluation or accurately measuring or controlling the temperature of the biological system being tested. Our meta-analysis showed that the bulk of the studies had a quality score lower than 2 out of a possible 5, with only one study achieving a maximum quality score of 5 [ 9 ]. The meta-analysis further showed that studies with a low quality score were more likely to show a greater effect. Future research should pay careful attention to the experimental design to reduce possible sources of artefact.
The experimental studies included in this review reported PDs below the ICNIRP exposure limits. Many of the authors suggested that the resulting biological effects may be related to non-thermal mechanisms. However, as is shown in our meta-analysis, data from these studies should be treated with caution because the estimated SAR values in many of the studies were much higher than the ICNIRP SAR limits [ 9 ]. SAR values much higher than the ICNIRP guidelines are certainly capable of producing significant temperature rise and are far beyond the levels expected for 5 G telecommunication devices [ 1 ]. Future research into the low-level effects of MMWs should pay particular attention to appropriate temperature control in order to avoid possible heating effects.
Although a systematic review of experimental studies was not conducted, this paper presents a critical appraisal of study design and quality of all available studies into the bioeffects of low level MMWs. The conclusions from the review of experimental studies are supported by a meta-analysis in our companion paper [ 9 ]. Given the low-quality methods of the majority of the experimental studies we infer that a systematic review of different bioeffects is not possible at present. Our review includes recommendations for future experimental research. A search of the available literature showed a further 44 non-English papers that were not included in our review. Although the non-English papers may have some important results it is noted that the majority are from research groups that have published English papers that are included in our review.
The epidemiological studies on MMW exposure from radar that has a similar frequency range to that of 5 G and exposure levels below the ICNIRP occupational limits in most situations, provided little evidence of an association with any adverse health effects. Only a small number of studies reported positive associations with various methodological issues such as risk of bias, confounding and multiple testing questioning the result. The three large cohort studies of military personnel exposed to radar in particular did not generally show an association with cancer or other diseases. A key concern across all the epidemiological studies was the quality of exposure assessment. Various challenges such as variability in complex occupational environments that also include other co-exposures, retrospective estimation of exposure and an appropriate exposure metric remain central in studies of this nature [ 153 ]. Exposure in most of the epidemiological studies was self-reported or based on job-title, which may not necessarily be an adequate proxy for exposure to RF fields above 6 GHz. Some studies improved on exposure assessment by using expert assessment and job-exposure matrices, however, the possibility of exposure misclassification is not eliminated. Another limitation in many of the studies was the poor assessment of possible confounding including other occupational exposures and lifestyle factors. It should also be noted that close proximity to certain very powerful radar units could have exceeded the ICNIRP occupational limits, therefore the reported effects especially related to reproductive outcomes could potentially be related to heating.
Given that wireless communications have only recently started to use RF frequencies above 6 GHz there are no epidemiological studies investigating 5 G directly as yet. Some previous epidemiological studies have reported a possible weak association between mobile phone use (from older networks using frequencies below 6 GHz) and brain cancer [ 11 ]. However, methodological limitations in these studies prevent conclusions of causality being drawn from the observations [ 152 ]. Recent investigations have not shown an increase in the incidence of brain cancer in the population that can be attributed to mobile phone use [ 154 , 155 ]. Future epidemiological research should continue to monitor long-term health effects in the population related to wireless telecommunications.
The review of experimental studies provided no confirmed evidence that low-level MMWs are associated with biological effects relevant to human health. Many of the studies reporting effects came from the same research groups and the results have not been independently reproduced. The majority of the studies employed low quality methods of exposure assessment and control so the possibility of experimental artefact cannot be excluded. Further, many of the effects reported may have been related to heating from high RF energy deposition so the assertion of a ‘low-level’ effect is questionable in many of the studies. Future studies into the low-level effects of MMWs should improve the experimental design with particular attention to dosimetry and temperature control. The results from epidemiological studies presented little evidence of an association between low-level MMWs and any adverse health effects. Future epidemiological research would benefit from specific investigation on the impact of 5 G and future telecommunication technologies.
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This work was supported by the Australian Government’s Electromagnetic Energy Program. This work was also partly supported by National Health and Medical Research Council grant no. 1042464.
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Karipidis, K., Mate, R., Urban, D. et al. 5G mobile networks and health—a state-of-the-science review of the research into low-level RF fields above 6 GHz. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 31 , 585–605 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-021-00297-6
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Received : 30 July 2020
Revised : 23 December 2020
Accepted : 21 January 2021
Published : 16 March 2021
Issue Date : July 2021
DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-021-00297-6
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Private 5G is one of the critical enablers of industry 4.0 use cases. Despite the significant buzz it has created, understanding of private 5G is still lacking and enterprises are oftentimes unclear on whether it’s the right connectivity solution for them. This article aims at providing more clarity on this issue by presenting practical steps for manufacturers to follow when considering private 5G.
We define private 5G as a dedicated, on-premise 5G cellular network that uses dedicated spectrum (owned or leased) and operating functions. Having this dedicated for a customer/site means that the network can be customised to meet the customers’ and various use case-specific needs, e.g. mission critical reliability, uplink downlink, ultra-low-latency, security etc.
While private 5G may not necessarily be the best choice for all applications in comparison to other technologies, it’s highly suitable in combinations of the following scenarios:
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These scenarios span a variety of industries, however; manufacturing can be singled out as one of the top verticals that will benefit from private 5G. Manufacturing has been a leading industry driving digital transformation (known as Industry 4.0) within production. Innovative leaders, within the automotive manufacturing sector for example, are exploring new innovative use cases that enable them to address key production outcomes and KPIs such as quality (defect and rework rate), productivity (yield, planned and unplanned downtime) and flexibility. The next section lays out a practical framework for manufacturers to evaluate their connectivity and application needs, decide whether private 5G is right for them, and if it is, learn how to go about implementing it.
Note, that the focus of this article is the evaluation phase of the process (see Figure 1 below) as that’s where most uncertainty lies. The assumption is that each enterprise will have its own established way of selecting vendors and piloting solutions.
Figure 1: manufacturers should adopt a multi-stage process to evaluate connectivity needs and relevant solutions.
First, the manufacturer must undergo a strategic evaluation of its desired business outcomes and goals. This includes decisions around use cases that must be implemented, operational KPIs that must be met, and technical KPIs that need to be achieved. It’s important to have a strong representation from all key internal stakeholders (e.g. IT, Network, Strategy etc.) to ensure a wholistic picture is obtained.
Once key requirements and use cases are identified, it’s time to understand the associated applications and their feature sets/connectivity needs. For existing applications, the manufacturer can measure current performance against a target benchmark. For new use cases, the manufacturer must identify key performance targets and KPIs and investigate whether current connectivity solutions are enough to enable them.
The next step is to evaluate connectivity solutions available to the enterprise. The main three options are Wi-Fi, private 5G/LTE, and wired connectivity. Each technology has its advantages and disadvantages and must be used in the most appropriate way.
If the manufacturer decides to go with private 5G, it must decide on how it will secure the 5G spectrum. It is possible to choose either licensed or unlicensed spectrum. There are four routes to access spectrum that can be categorised into the following types: managed (from local service provider or aggregators) and DIY (spectrum application or unlicensed spectrum).
As the 5G market evolves, so does the ecosystem enabling it. Today, not all devices are 5G-ready which is something that manufacturers must be mindful of when procuring solutions to successfully future-proof their investments and implement private 5G use cases.
The final step in this process is to evaluate vendors and deployment models. Manufacturers can either go with a single or multi-vendor approach depending on their partnership preferences. Additionally, they can choose to either own and operate the network (i.e. buy, install and manage the equipment), go for a managed service (where a 3rd party takes care of full service delivery), or adopt a hybrid strategy that combines the previous two. This decision must be made taking into account the enterprise’s budget, in-house resource capabilities, and technology estate.
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Ani is a senior consultant at STL Partners and has been working on a diverse range of projects, mainly in the areas of 5G, automation, and edge computing. She has worked on consulting engagements aimed at helping clients define strategic opportunities, carry out competitor evaluations, develop go-to-market strategies and more.
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Advancing the next generation of healthcare powered by 5G
5G networks have the potential to revolutionize the way we work and do business. A Gartner survey reveals two-thirds of organizations intend to deploy 5G by 2020.1 But, in the race to deliver 5G at scale, some carriers are investing more in hype than innovation. While there will always be a race to establish leadership and position, trying to do so through hype alone creates two serious risks.
First, it creates confusion in the market and undersells the reality of 5G. Rebranding a 4G LTE Advanced network as a 5G service leaves customers with an experience less than the promise and potential of 5G. This perception of 5G as merely “a faster version of 4G” may be difficult to overcome as 5G networks come online.
Second, it has the potential to stall technology innovation and investment in 5G by commercial partners, due to lackluster network performance. These partnerships are critical to bringing actual 5G use cases to life in their respective industries.
In order to help business customers and partners overcome these real or perceived risks, Verizon has committed to only labeling networks as 5G if they meet the following criteria: if new device hardware connects to the network using new radio technology to deliver new capabilities. Our commitment to this transparency was recently shared by Kyle Malady, Chief Technology Officer at Verizon.2 Not only did he make this promise, but he called for others to follow this path.
As you work to differentiate between investments in hype versus investments in innovation, you should know that Verizon is building a 5G network that will eventually allow businesses to:
Anything less should call into question the motivations of the carrier or provider.
“When we say ‘5G,’ we mean 5G.”
—Kyle Malady, Verizon Chief Technology Officer
There are eight core currencies—or attributes—that you should consider when evaluating a 5G network. A network that
delivers better capabilities in each of the eight currencies will be a network that provides a true platform for innovation.
1. Throughput
Verizon has reached speeds of 1.45 gigabits per second in 4G LTE Advanced.3 5G speeds have the potential to be many times faster than today’s 4G LTE network. 5G networks will one day offer peak data rates of up to 10 Gbps.
2. Service deployment
Network virtualization (i.e., using software to perform network functions) enables service application deployment without having to install additional hardware, reducing typical service deployment time from 6 months to 90 minutes.
3. Mobility
We’ve tested 5G network handoff techniques to enable passengers in fast-moving vehicles and trains to stay connected while moving. 5G technology is designed to enable devices that are traveling up to 500 kph (310 mph) to stay connected to the network. 4
4. Connected devices
5G will eventually be capable of supporting up to 1 million devices in a square kilometer. With so much new data from these devices, a whole new world of services opens up.
5. Energy efficiency
5G will eventually have lower energy requirements for network operations (up to 90% less than 4G). 5G can enable edge computing—shifting complex computing to the network’s edge—saving time and processing energy on end users’ devices. 5
6. Data volume
The 5G standard is designed to handle up to 10 TB/s/km .2,6 This means the 5G network will eventually be able to carry a massive amount of data for a lot of simultaneous users.
Latency is the time it takes for data to travel from the user over the network to the central processor and back again. 4G LTE currently offers 40 to 50 ms latency. Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband should eventually offer less than 10 ms end-to-end response times. 7, 8
8. Reliability
Verizon offers the most reliable 4G LTE network in the nation—ranked #1 in overall network performance in the U.S. by RootMetrics, 12 times in a row. 9 Verizon is bringing that same expertise and focus as we architect and build our 5G Ultra Wideband network.
If you’d like to receive new articles, solutions briefs, whitepapers and more—just let us know.
A roadmap for today and tomorrow.
As Verizon 5G networks are rolled out, we will communicate and update business leaders on our work so you are able to take full advantage. In the meantime, the roadmap for businesses is clear.
First, if you are not currently using Verizon’s 4G LTE network, we recommend doing so immediately. This gives you instant access to the largest and most reliable 4G LTE network in the United States and opens the door for critical use cases that are actionable today. And, as there are currently no plans to sunset Verizon 4G LTE, this is an investment in the long-term value of your business.
Second, as Verizon 5G networks are rolled out in markets where you do business, we recommend working with us to establish pilot programs or proofs of concept that allow you to realize the full value of 5G in your business.
There are five network elements that are required to build out the Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband network.
Verizon has spent years deploying a massive fiber network while densifying its 4G LTE network with fiber-fed small cells. Verizon has also agreed to spend $1.05 billion on new fiber-optic cable from Corning from 2018 to 2020. 11
Small-cell deployment
Verizon has spent years densifying our 4G LTE network. Many 4G locations will be used for 5G. We have built relationships with municipalities of all sizes to accelerate network deployment.
Millimeter spectrum holdings
Verizon has secured a large portfolio of millimeter-wave spectrum, through company and license acquisitions, to help ensure that customers receive the best 5G network experience.
Edge computing
We have network locations nationwide that are ideally suited to house edge computing resources. Computing at the edge will deliver access to the tools, power and expertise to deploy at scale.
Virtualization
Virtualization began taking hold in 4G networks as a component of LTE Advanced evolution, but it will be critical as 5G networks roll out. Decoupling of software and hardware functionality instead of adding or upgrading single-purpose hardware leads to more flexibility, faster delivery of services, greater scalability and significant cost efficiency in networks. Using software-defined networking (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV), some of the radio access network (RAN) and core network physical infrastructure is replaced with software. This also allows for an increase in interoperability using common-off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware.
You’ll find an always-current list of cities with Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband at verizonwireless.com/5g/coverage-map/
For information on 5G Home availability, visit verizonwireless.com/5g/home/
Reach out to your Verizon Wireless business specialist or visit verizonwireless.com/biz/5g
1 Gartner Press Release, “Gartner Survey Reveals Two-Thirds of Organizations Intend to Deploy 5G by 2020.” December 18, 2018.
https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2018-12-18-gartner-survey-reveals-two-thirds-of-organizations-in
2 verizon.com/about/news/when-we-say-5g-we-mean-5g
3 In six-channel carrier aggregation
4 https://www.itu.int/md/R15-SG05-C-0040/en
5 verizon.com/about/our-company/5g/how-5g-will-pull-cloud-closer
6 https://5g-ppp.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/5G-Vision-Brochure-v1.pdf
7 Latency improvements are due to lower latency in the 5G radio access network and the extension of the core network closer to end users.
8 verizon.com/about/news/verizon-ceo-hans-vestberg-keynotes-2019-consumer-electronics-show
9 Based on RootMetrics® by IHS Markit’s RootScore® Reports: 1H 2019. Tested with best commercially available smartphones on four national mobile networks across all available network types. Experiences may vary. RootMetrics awards are not an endorsement of Verizon.
10 verizon.com/about/news/verizon-agrees-105-billion-three-year-minimum-purchase-agreement-corning-next-generation
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With the global deployment of the fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks, the exploration of Beyond 5G (B5G)/sixth-generation (6G) wireless communications has begun. It is foreseen that related technologies will exhibit superior characteristics compared to their predecessors, encompassing higher transfer speeds, expanded coverage, enhanced reliability, greater energy efficiency, reduced latency and, notably, an integrated “human-centric” network infrastructure driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI). This study underscores the imperative need for AI methodologies and security across various resources such as spectrum, computing and storage, provided by the advanced blockchain features in the forthcoming 6G era. Use cases posed by these B5G technologies aim to leverage its inherent features of decentralization, transparency, anonymity and resiliency, while blockchain can foster cooperative trust among disparate network entities. Furthermore, the paper elucidates insights into Blockchain Radio Access Networks (B-RANs) gleaned from the EU-funded research project NANCY [ 1 ], whose pillars and architecture are highlighted, providing an overview of the core advancements it can offer.
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See, for example : https://docs.o-ran-sc.org/en/latest/architecture/architecture.html .
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/pareto-optimality .
NANCY, Horizon JU SNS EU-funded project, GA No.101096456. https://nancy-project.eu/
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Part of this paper has been based on the context of the “NANCY” (“ An Artificial Intelligent Aided Unified Network for Secure Beyond 5G Long Term Evolution ”) project, supported by the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU). This project has received funding from the EU Horizon Europe (HORIZON) Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No.101096456.
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Hellenic Telecommunications Organization, Athens, Greece
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Belesioti, M. et al. (2024). Beyond 5G Networking: The Case of NANCY Project. In: Maglogiannis, I., Iliadis, L., Karydis, I., Papaleonidas, A., Chochliouros, I. (eds) Artificial Intelligence Applications and Innovations. AIAI 2024 IFIP WG 12.5 International Workshops. AIAI 2024. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, vol 715. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-63227-3_2
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I keep hearing that 5G will require millions of small cells. Why is that?
Brian: Higher frequencies expected to be used by 5G do not travel as far as lower frequencies used today, and also have a harder time penetrating walls, bridges, trees, or anything physical. To get around that, MNOs will deploy more cells that cover smaller areas serving fewer people albeit at much higher speeds, which will drive the proliferation of small cells.
Will 5G smartphones support 10Gb/s?
Brian: Initially, probably not. 5G is expected to support a minimum of at least 100Mb/s yet be capable of speeds as high as 10Gb/s. The mobile infrastructure won’t be able to support hundreds of millions of people accessing the network at this top speed, at least early on and this is fine in most situations. Today, for example, watching video is the most bandwidth-intensive smartphone application, but it doesn’t consume anywhere near 10Gb/s because there are only so many pixels in a smartphone screen to populate. With that bandwidth, who knows what future applications will be possible.
Brian: In North America today, most 4G MNOs purchase backhaul from third-party service providers. This market will likely continue for 5G, albeit at much higher rates. I believe it will be increasingly done using dark fiber rather than packet-optical-based services, at least for the higher supported rates.
Will the Internet of Things (IoT) generate video traffic?
Brian: It depends on what you classify as a “thing”. If it includes HD surveillance camera, for example, that runs on a cellular network, then yes, and lots of it. Smaller things, such as temperature sensors, will generate far less traffic, but there may be billions of them deployed, so it adds up quickly. For the most part, the challenge of IoT will likely be about the number of individual services, not capacity.
What’s driving the spike in mobile video traffic?
Brian: The answer is probably right in front of you! It’s mobile devices with HD cameras for one, that are feeding content into YouTube and Facebook, which are, in turn streamed to mobile devices more than anywhere else. When Facebook enabled auto-play on its videos it drove a massive increase in mobile bandwidth consumption overnight. Other sites have replicated this model, so I don’t see the trend slowing.
How will 5G change the wireline architecture that currently supports 4G mobile backhaul?
Brian: That will depend on MNO’s rollout patterns, how many users are on the network, and what limits they’ll set on speeds. Today MNOs typically feed a 1 Gb/s Ethernet line to a 4G cell sites, of which an average of 200-300 Mb/s is being used. With 5G, that same macro tower may need 10’s to 100’s of Gbps, which will require an enormous capacity upgrades to those towers.
Will fiber deployment patterns change when 5G is deployed?
Brian: Direct communication between cells is planned for 5G networks, skipping the connection to the packet core wherever possible, which would offload a lot of traffic. Those cells might be wired together directly in the shortest path, but I think traffic will mostly home back to a central location.
Should a service provider now planning to start a 4G deployment hold off until 5G?
Brian: Yes, as there will be significant and time-consuming upgrades to the existing 4G wireline network that will ease 5G deployments, as soon as the latter technology arrives. There are many things that MNOs can do today, such as deploy more fiber to small and macro cells, that are compatible with both 4G networks of today, and 5G network of tomorrow.
Will the 5G backbone be physically and virtually separate from the 4G backbone?
Brian: Not physically. If, for example, a service provider has a 4G cell and wants to add 5G radios to that macro towers, they would likely end up sharing the aggregation and core network back to the data center, perhaps over different wavelengths or different parts of the network, L2/L3 VPNs, or Optical VPNs. Rolling out completely separate networks for both it would become cost prohibitive quickly and much harder to get to ROI. Some parts of the network will be only for 5G, and some shared.
Will there be a relation between 5G and WiFi?
Brian: Yes. The Heterogeneous Network (HetNet) that is expected to achieve the require geographic coverage for 5G will include a wide variety of cells such as pico, femto, micro, small, and even WiFi, which all serve a smaller area than traditional macro cells via spectrum reuse. People will still want to use WiFi to avoid affecting their cellular usage caps, with many of those coffee-shop WiFi access points being owned by MNOs.
How will 5G latency be lower if processing is being done in the cloud?
Brian: Latency in the case of 5G refers to over-the-air latency, between the user device and the radio access network radio. To reduce overall latency, service providers will need to put data much closer to end-users, which is why some MNOs are considering leasing space at their cell sites to host data and applications for content providers, particularly in large urban centers. Ultimately, the placement of data and processing will be determined by the supported 5G application. The Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) initiative will play a major role in addressing this important challenge.
What impact will 5G have on backhaul networks?
Brian: Data received at the 5G radio located in a cell site won’t go anywhere without fiber. That’s why many large MNOs are buying large fiber footprints. They know that fiber and its geographic footprint will ultimately dictate the performance and commercial success of their 5G services and applications. 5G will need fiber, and lots of it .
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5G performance in the United States continues to improve as more mid-band spectrum becomes available. In March, T-Mobile gained access to additional 2.5 GHz spectrum it won at auction 108 in 2022, and we’re already beginning to see the impact of this, adding extra capacity to its 5G network and boosting performance in rural U.S. locations in particular. In just one month, T-Mobile’s median download performance across the U.S. increased by 29.64 Mbps. Its recent agreement to acquire the bulk of US Cellular’s wireless operations and a portion of its spectrum holdings will help it further reinforce its competitive lead. Verizon and AT&T have both benefited from the early vacation of C-band spectrum by satellite providers, the licenses for which were acquired through Auction 107 in February 2021. AT&T acquired additional 3.45 GHz licenses, former U.S. Department of Defense spectrum, made available through Auction 110 which concluded in January 2022. All three major carriers have since been upgrading their sites to support their new spectrum frequencies. This update reviews the latest Speedtest Intelligence® data to highlight the impact of deployments in new spectrum bands for U.S. 5G users.
Speedtest Intelligence data for the U.S., covering the last three years, clearly shows how instrumental additional mid-band spectrum has been for all major US carriers. Four points in time stand out very clearly when we look at median download speeds across the market:
T-Mobile had capitalized on its early advantage, building out 5G in 600 MHz spectrum to cover 200 million Points of Presence (PoPs) as of 2020, following that up with wide deployment in its mid-band 2.5 GHz spectrum holdings. Despite performance boosts for AT&T and Verizon from additional C-band spectrum in Q4 2023, T-Mobile still led the pack with a median 5G download speed of 275.50 Mbps as of May 2024, 23% faster than next placed Verizon. Its lead had narrowed since August, with Verizon’s C-band spectrum helping it increase median 5G performance from 133.56 Mbps in June to 215.57 Mbps in December. AT&T also saw performance pick up in the second half of 2023, and at the turn of the year, these trends pointed towards a much more competitive 5G market during 2024, while also driving increased capacity for wireless provider’s 5G FWA services.
T-Mobile has continued to innovate in order to drive performance gains across its 5G network. In addition to deploying a 5G Standalone architecture, it is pushing the envelope on carrier aggregation, most recently completing a test with Ericsson and Qualcomm of six carrier aggregation , stitching together two channels of each of its 2.5 GHz, PCS, and AWS spectrum to achieve download speeds in excess of 3.6 Gbps. Furthermore, having finally gained access to additional 2.5 GHz spectrum it won during auction 108 in 2022, but had not been cleared to use, T-Mobile has rapidly been enabling the new spectrum across its footprint. This has allowed it to extend its lead in the market, recording a median 5G download speed of 287.14 Mbps in March 2024. As cellular providers ramp up their home broadband offerings via 5G fixed wireless access (FWA), as we recently highlighted , they will need to balance fixed net additions carefully in order to ensure cellular performance does not suffer, and will require additional high capacity spectrum over time to meet demand.
The uplift in 5G performance is driving improved consumer sentiment, as measured by net promoter score (NPS). NPS is a key performance indicator of customer experience, categorizing users into Detractors (score 0-6), Passives (score 7-8), and Promoters (score 9-10), with the NPS representing the percentage of Promoters minus the percent of Detractors, displayed in the range from -100 to 100. Reviewing Speedtest Intelligence data shows that U.S. cellular providers returned either flat or declines in 5G NPS over the period March to August 2023. From September onwards, we see a strong uplift in 5G NPS in particular for Verizon and AT&T following their C-band deployments. T-Mobile on the other hand, has seen a sizable increase in 5G NPS in March, corresponding to its deployment in additional mid-band spectrum.
Key to this growth in 5G NPS for all three cellular providers, is the impact that increases in 5G performance are impacting the quality of experience for end users for key use cases such as video streaming and mobile gaming. Both measures, as highlighted by Ookla’s 5G Game Score™ and 5G Video Score™ metrics have seen strong increases over the course of the past year.
5G Video & Gaming Quality of Experience Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1 2023 – Q1 2024
Performance gains from all national cellular providers have enabled the U.S. to climb the ranks when compared to its peers internationally. Over the course of just one year, it has moved from 20th place on Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index , to reach 11th as of February 2024. This has been driven by increased availability of mid-band spectrum for 5G use, as advocated for by the CTIA, which recently released a report claiming that the U.S. could benefit from an additional $200 billion in economic growth over the next 10 years through allocating additional mid-band spectrum for 5G.
U.S. providers are also continuing to expand the reach of 5G networks across the market. 5G Service, the share of known operator locations where 5G was present (of total locations with cellular service) climbed from 68.4% in Q3 2023 to 76.7% in Q1 2024. Deployment of 5G in low band spectrum is also critical to ensuring high 5G Availability – the share of 5G users that spend a majority of their time connected to 5G networks. The U.S. still tracks as one of the leading markets globally for 5G Availability, despite its comparatively large landmass, although that metric remained level quarter-on-quarter.
5G Service and 5G Availability – U.S. vs Other Leading 5G Markets Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1 2024
While national median speeds continue to advance, there remain some significant disparities in 5G performance at an individual state level. The Midwestern States fare best, with Illinois, Kansas, North Dakota, and Minnesota all within the top-5 performing states nationally, with median 5G download speeds above 225 Mbps during Q4 2023. At the other end of the scale are U.S. states with the highest shares of rural populations, including Vermont, Maine, Mississippi, and West Virginia, which had median download speeds below 100 Mbps.
5G Median Download Speed by U.S. State (Mbps) Speedtest Intelligence® | Q4 2023
Differing allocations of spectrum, channel bandwidths, device capabilities, and carrier aggregation options all impact the observed performance of each service provider across the locations they serve. While each network operator has its own 5G deployment strategy, the deployment of mid-band spectrum for capacity in urban locations, complemented with sub-1 GHz spectrum to enable wider and better 5G coverage, is the common approach. While performance gaps will remain as a result of these deployment strategies, recent mid-band spectrum deployments, including in C-band and 2.5 GHz, are beginning to help close the performance gap for some states.
We examined T-Mobile’s recent performance, comparing data between February and March, as it deploys 5G in its additional 2.5 GHz spectrum. The results show performance has increased across a wide range of U.S. states, with its median 5G performance increasing by more than 10 Mbps within 35 States and the District of Columbia. Among the ten states with the lowest median 5G download speed (based on data for all providers), T-Mobile showed the most significant performance uplifts in West Virginia (+79.73 Mbps), Wyoming (+66.61 Mbps), and New Hampshire (+48.50 Mbps).
T-Mobile’s 2.5 GHz Dividend – Uplift in 5G Median Download Speeds (Top 15 Improving States) Speedtest Intelligence® | March vs February 2024
Speedtest Intelligence data also illustrates the gap between rural and urban U.S. locations , which has widened over the last three years as mid-band deployments have tended to focus on more urban locations. That is beginning to change, with both T-Mobile and Verizon keen to highlight the impact of their recent spectrum deployments on rural 5G performance. While AT&T only saw a minor increase in median 5G download speeds in rural locations, both T-Mobile and Verizon have targeted significant increases in performance through mid-band spectrum deployments.
Mid-band spectrum driving improvements in urban & rural 5G performance Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1 2021 – Q1 2024
Additional spectrum has fueled surges in download performance thanks to the deployment of 5G in mid-band spectrum, but upload and latency metrics have not improved to the same degree. All three cellular providers maintained relatively static median upload speeds across the two year period we examined (Q1 2022 to Q1 2024). 5G latency performance was a mixed picture, with T-Mobile the only provider to consistently improve, reducing its latency from 55 ms in Q1 2022 to 46 ms in Q1 2024. Both Verizon and AT&T saw latency grow over the same period.
5G Median Upload and Latency Performance, (by provider, U.S.) Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1 2022 – Q1 2024
It’s very clear that U.S. cellular providers are prioritizing improvements in download performance. This will likely continue in 2024, as T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon each seek to gain the upper hand, using any 5G network advantages to capture a larger share of competitive churn. Over time however, we expect the relative importance of upload and latency performance to grow, as 5G download performance begins to exhibit diminishing marginal returns, and increasing importance is given to improving the experience of latency-sensitive use cases such as video calling, mobile gaming, and augmented reality.
2024 is set to drive renewed competitive pressure between all of the service providers in the U.S., with the continuing deployment of 5G in mid-band spectrum, T-Mobile’s acquisition of US Cellular’s assets, and made all the more interesting given the DISH wildcard. We’ll continue to monitor and report on 5G performance trends in the U.S., and their impact on Speedtest users. To learn more about Ookla Speedtest Intelligence, please get in touch .
Ookla retains ownership of this article including all of the intellectual property rights, data, content graphs and analysis. This article may not be quoted, reproduced, distributed or published for any commercial purpose without prior consent. Members of the press and others using the findings in this article for non-commercial purposes are welcome to publicly share and link to report information with attribution to Ookla.
Mark Giles is the Lead Industry Analyst at Ookla
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Introducing 5G mobile communications into industrial manufacturing processes can both address pain points and release great value. - The 5G-enabled BLISK case study alone could create annual savings of approximately EUR 27 million for one single factory, and up to EUR 360 million globally. While the BLISK case is an extreme example, similar ...
The 5G rollout began in 2018 with a global initiative known as the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3FPP). The initiative defined a new set of standards to steer the design of devices and applications for use on 5G networks. The initiative was a success, and 5G networks grew swiftly in the ensuing years.
Case study: Horizon 2 business building. ... An Asian telco has created a platform that allows enterprises to activate slices of its 5G network on demand and access partner-created tools. Its marketplace, which functions like an app store, offers solutions for smart warehouse management, training that applies virtual reality and augmented ...
The adoption of 5G will likely happen in waves in major markets, with EMBB reaching mass adoption first, URLLC gaining traction soon afterward, and MMTC trailing the pack (Exhibit 2). For each application profile, adoption will largely depend on the availability of appropriate 5G chipsets, the speed and coverage of 5G network deployments,
Abstract. In wireless communication, Fifth Generation (5G) Technology is a recent generation of mobile networks. In this paper, evaluations in the field of mobile communication technology are presented. In each evolution, multiple challenges were faced that were captured with the help of next-generation mobile networks.
The 40 use cases outlined in this paper clearly demonstrate that 5G is here, now. However, the transition to 5G networks can only be achieved when all stakeholders—citizens, the private sector, regulators, national governments and cities—collaborate to effectively address these issues. The insights and recommendations in this white paper ...
The quadrants clarify successful case studies, unmet pain points, uncertain future considerations, and latent potential of any 5G use case. Additionally, key topics covered include: a consumer perspective on historical telecommunications use cases; a new lens for evaluating 5G use cases; the role of network architecture and technology
5G Networks Case Study; Share. 5G Networks powers the digital future of Australian businesses over a Juniper network. ... 5G Networks appreciates the operational efficiency of Juniper's high-density routers and switches, enabling the provider to serve more customers at a lower the cost of operations. Less rack space and lower power ...
A case study is an empirical inquiry that draws on multiple sources of evidence to investigate one or a small number of instances of a contemporary ... Another example is the transportation scenario (3 studies out of 30, 10.0%). With a 5G network using both macrocells and small cells that covers an area, vehicles (e.g., buses, autonomous cars ...
Network operators are already looking to showcase what 5G can do with projects like Alba Iulia Smart City (Image credit: ALBA IULIA). Network operators are already looking to showcase what can be achieved with 5G technology, and one such 5G use case is the Alba Iulia Smart City, which has been developed in conjunction with Orange, and has seen congestion monitoring, parking sensors, and smart ...
Paydirt with 5G Network Case Study The global mining market is expected to grow¹ from $1.8 trillion in 2021 to $2.4 trillion in 2025, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.1%. To underscore how large and vital the industry is, mining revenues are as big as a number of the world's top
This case study examines the project's objectives, the business drivers and key partnerships and analyses the project's strengths and challenges. This case study provides: an overview of Hub One's private LTE/5G network initiative. key data about the project, including partners and stakeholders. examples of the leading 5G use cases associated ...
Hub One: a private LTE/5G networks case study Michele Mackenzie (Principal Analyst) is an analyst for Analysys Mason's IoT and M2M Services research programme, with responsibility for M2M and LPWA forecasts. She has over 20 years of experience as an analyst and conducts research on IoT verticals such as utilities,
The meta-analysis included three cohort studies [122, 124, 125] and three case-control studies [129,130,131] for a total sample size of 53,000 subjects. The meta-analysis reported a decrease in ...
A smart port makes use of automation and innovative technologies including artificial intelligence to enhance both efficiency and safety, while simultaneously lowering costs. In most cases, today's smart ports use wired networks for connectivity. A wirelessly connected port uses wireless technology such as Wi-Fi, 4G or 5G for connection. In a 5G-connected port, 5G NR delivers ubiquitous and ...
We define private 5G as a dedicated, on-premise 5G cellular network that uses dedicated spectrum (owned or leased) and operating functions. Having this dedicated for a customer/site means that the network can be customised to meet the customers' and various use case-specific needs, e.g. mission critical reliability, uplink downlink, ultra-low ...
Case Study 5G MEC Edge to Cloud Intel® FlexRAN Reference Architecture ... network. 2. Case Study | Integrating 5G and Edge Computing to Accelerate the Intelligent Transformation of Power Sector. As shown in the red dashed box in Figure 1, the stand-alone NPN design enables all access network elements, core network elements, and edge platform ...
The 5G standard is designed to handle up to 10 TB/s/km.2,6 This means the 5G network will eventually be able to carry a massive amount of data for a lot of simultaneous users. 7. Latency. Latency is the time it takes for data to travel from the user over the network to the central processor and back again. 4G LTE currently offers 40 to 50 ms ...
for broadcasting live streams of medical procedures. The 5G connectivity is also used to enable remote clinical training for medical students and to support international medical conferences hosted by CUHKMC, with participants phy. ically located in the Greater Bay Area and overseas.In the face of COVID-19, 5G's capacity for transmitting ...
The continuing growth in demand for better mobile experience, higher data rates and lower latencies is driving the development of the forthcoming generation of wireless systems, namely, 5G. Radio network planning (RNP) is one of the essential stages in deploying a wireless network that meets certain coverage, capacity and quality of service (QoS) requirements. While the RNP problem has been ...
The final group of use cases leveraging the capabilities of 5G networks is the massive Machine-Type Communications (mMTC), which facilitates the continuous connectivity of a vast number of existing IoT devices, resulting in the growth of industrial automation and smart city infrastructure. 5G networks provide optimized support for mMTC by ...
Brian: Latency in the case of 5G refers to over-the-air latency, between the user device and the radio access network radio. To reduce overall latency, service providers will need to put data much closer to end-users, which is why some MNOs are considering leasing space at their cell sites to host data and applications for content providers ...
The living lab demonstrated a holistic approach to network integration, incorporating private cellular 5G, Wi-Fi 6, microwave, and LoRaWAN to address diverse enterprise requirements. Several real-world applications were showcased during the tour, highlighting the efficacy of private cellular networks. These applications included remote expert ...
Bradley is adopting a 5G Hybrid Mobile network to deliver innovative, immersive learning experiences and increase operational efficiency across the institution. The school also provided the latest iPads equipped with T-Mobile unlimited data plans and 5G connectivity to students, faculty, and relevant staff in the fall 2023 semester. Students ...
5G performance in the United States continues to improve as more mid-band spectrum becomes available. In March, T-Mobile gained access to additional 2.5 GHz spectrum it won at auction 108 in 2022, and we're already beginning to see the impact of this, adding extra capacity to its 5G network and boosting performance in rural U.S. locations in particular.
Optimize digital experiences with real-time service visibility, while assuring your end-to-end 5G transport. ... Bouygues Telecom now has a complete "telescopic and microscopic" view of network and service performance in a single tool. André Ethier, Network Quality Engineer. Bouygues Telecom. Watch video (01:32)