What can we do with 5G technology?

A data transmission speed 1,000 times faster than that of the LTE network? That’s what’s coming with the future standard of 5G mobile phone technology. This fifth generation will be the technological basis for the development of the Internet of Things, with automated vehicles, houses connected to intelligent cities... 5G technology is full of potential.

To begin with, 5G promises to be up to 100 times faster than today's wireless systems. Although current devices do not have enough capacity to support it, it is worth noting that this technology did not begin to arrive until 2018, with Japan, South Korea and North America the first to adopt this 5G technology.

But what will 5G networks allow us to do?

In addition to increasing speed, 5G networks will offer lower latency, greater reliability, better connectivity from more locations; also greater capacity, allowing more users and more devices to be connected at the same time. The resulting infrastructure will make IoT (internet of things) scalable, with more than 20.8 billion "things" - including buildings, cars, machines and appliances - expected to be connected to the network by the time 5G is globally launched in 2020, up from 4.9 billion in 2015.

With the 5G network we will be able to download a movie to our smartphone in less than three seconds; our car will be able to automatically detect and navigate around traffic or roadblocks; doctors will be able to perform complex surgical procedures using robots remotely; cities will be able to collect ubiquitous real-time information on traffic, weather and crime...

Today's 4G networks are not robust enough to control tomorrow's products and services: they will need 5G technology.

5G networks will allow devices to connect directly to each other, with more efficient communication and therefore lower battery power consumption.

Internet of Things connected devices, for example, will find that the superior speed and performance of 5G networks will unlock much sought-after features such as voice commands, facial recognition, real-time image and video processing, and gesture-based interfaces.

In 10 years time, robotic taxis will be a common sight on many streets in big cities.