What is 5G Technology?
5G is a fifth-generation of cellular technology. The technology is expected to deliver high data speed with higher multi-Gbps. It is expected to be more reliable, have massive network coverage, and increased availability to users. Like the 4G network is based on LTE, 5G is based on Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing, a method that can reduce the interface by modulating digital signals across different channels of communication. It is expected to increase flexibility and scalability by using higher radio frequency which is less cluttered. It will bring greater bandwidth and low latency by expanding the usage of spectrum resources. It will also enhance digital experiences through Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. The technology is expected to bring a revolution in the IoT space.
South Korea was the first country to adopt 5G technology on a large scale in the year 2019. Currently, there are 10 companies in the 5G network market: Samsung, Intel, Nokia, Huawei Ericsson, ZTE, Qualcomm, AT&T, NEC, and Cisco.
Impact of 5G Technology on Industries and Society
Infrastructure Development: 5G technology will help immensely in infrastructure development. For instance, India is one of the largest manufacturers in the world, but we hardly see any electric or autonomous vehicles. 5G technology will help enable develop the infrastructure for such units, with this the vehicles will be able to respond 10 times faster. This in turn will be safer and more effective. AR and VR which we used to see people using only on our televisions but now we can use that seamlessly. Also, if we take the manufacturing or transporting company as well, taking the warehousing and logistics segment in mind they will be digitized heavily and will be more efficient in their operations.
Healthcare: To date, most of us used to visit doctors physically, but 5G technology will reform the entire healthcare system. With more speed and efficiency, the healthcare system will be able to operate virtually with high-definition virtual consultants to remote patients and monitor them virtually and also properly connect ambulances. It will enable cross-border consultations as well. Telemedicine, Telesurgery are some of the technologies that will be used.
Education: With the outbreak of 5G technology, the education sector will become seamless. It will boost online education and thus students living in the remotest area will be able to access education online. Students will have more accessibility to intuitive studies, thus making education more practical, fun, and understanding. Sometimes we do face problems taking our online lectures but with the advent of 5G technology such network lack will become the problem of the distant past.
Smart Cities and better Traffic Management: We know that with the advent of 5G technology, there will be huge infrastructure development, this will also give birth to smart cities in the country, these cities will be well connected with all the modes of transportation, accessibility of healthcare facilities and availability of quality education to students with all connected to the internet. Traffic Management will become more efficient than ever before, it will be all connected through an AI system, and thus the chances of road traffic and accidents will reduce drastically over the period of time.
These all factors combined will help to increase our economic efficiency and thus will help society with a more convenient and promising future ahead.
Drawbacks of 5G technology
Limited Global Coverage: Since the network will be accessible to all people. But it won’t be available difficult for people living in rural areas for some years. It will take time to implement such technology there. Setting up costs will be too high when compared to other networks.
Decreased broadcast distance: Although 5G will deliver high network speeds, it can’t travel for long distances, hence more such towers have to build in order to have proper network coverage. Moreover, tall buildings or trees can block the path thus causing network issues.
Weakened battery devices: Phones with a 5G connection will have high battery drainage that can reduce the life of the device to a large extent. Thus, the manufacturers will have to spend heavily on such technology which can save the device from battery drainage.
Lack of Encryption in early stages: 5G Technology lacks encryption in place. There is a high probability that hackers and crackers can plan the attack and some sensitive data can be stolen. But efforts are being taken to prevent such cyber threats and increase security over a period of time.
Are there any Health Hazards with 5G Technology?
According to the World Health Organisation and other related research, there is no health effect that is casually linked with 5G technology. Only a few researches have been performed over the period of time regarding the frequencies of 5G technology.
Tissue heating is the main interaction between radiofrequency fields and the human body. But exposure levels of radiofrequency did not result any harm to the health. As the frequency increases, there is less penetration into the body tissues and absorption of the energy becomes more confined to the surface of the body (skin and eye).
Why there is a need for 5G technology when there is 4G?
No doubt, 4G technology did help enable incredible video streaming and calling on the go. But over the years, the congestion is increased over the year in the network due to its heavy use. It is reaching its technical limit and there is a dire need for such technology. The only need is to reduce the congestion over the network and the 5G technology thus is more efficient in terms of speed, connectivity between devices, and bandwidth and it will also increase security for the users in many aspects.
Written by – Irfan Ali
Edited by – Shamonnita Banerjee
This article was originally written in January 2023.
