Now that we have witnessed the reliance of the industrial revolution on the telecommunication industry let’s get down to business. 5G is, like the previous generations, the bearer of upheavals in several ways and well beyond the previous technologies. It is a major development in telecommunications standards that covers all civil telecommunications needs. It is the equivalent in the telecoms of the whole theory. In 5G, telecoms can be used for everything to connect smartphones at very high speed, connected objects at low speed, and other various needs, particularly for communication with vehicles or in industry and health.

The Conversion Between Technologies

But all this is based on many standards and sub-standards, which can sometimes work independently. It is the case with new techniques for modulating the signal in existing frequencies such as 2.6 GHz, making it possible to exceed speeds of 1 bit/s and those which aim to use millimeter bands. As 5G covers many features that will not be put into service simultaneously, telecom operators will have to compete in marketing ingenuity to explain the nature of the offers they are launching and their evolutions. It is already somewhat the case for the transition, which is still not completed between 3G and 4G, and it will be even worse.

Frequency Bands Consumption

5G uses many frequency bands and sub-carriers, in particular going beyond the usual frequencies between 700 MHz and 2.6 GHz, with the bands between 3.4 and 4 GHz and the millimeter bands, beyond 28 GHz. New antennas, modems for the terminals, and the need to densify the transmitters because the more you increase the frequency, the more you decrease the range, even if the massive (multiple-input-multiple-output) MIMO makes it possible to manage this to a certain extent.

Possible Economic Constraints

It is an economic headache because telecom operators will again have to invest in their infrastructure and back-end to launch 5G. Governments will auction off the new 5G frequency bands to telecom operators. They wonder if they will derive more value from these deployments than 4G. 5G also aims to tackle highly targeted markets such as industry, health, smart cities, and connected vehicles. It will help revolutionize these markets. In particular, 5G will make it possible to run autonomous vehicles in a concerted manner. 5G could help the telecommunications market, which its consumer segment has dominated. 5G could question the balance of investments between fixed and mobile broadband.

5G will probably change the landscape for broadcasting  TV channels. These challenges are also opportunities! Let’s not forget that the growth of smartphones has been made possible by the deployment of 3G. Social networks, social photo sharing, and networking are possible due to 4G. Logically, 5G should also bring its share of innovation opportunities for companies and entrepreneurs who will know how to seize the ball at the leap and at the right time.

We can expect at least announcements of 5G infrastructure from equipment manufacturers and the first smartphones supporting 5G-NR based on Qualcomm Snapdragon X50 modems. For the rest, you will have to take out your little technological compass to interpret all the adverse effects!