FEATURE


benefits, challenges and opportunities


5G: By Dave Millett, Equinox


5G has the potential to transform our daily lives – but only if the UK is at the forefront of this move to the next generation of wireless network technology.


The benefits


Firstly, 5G will be fast; about 10 times faster than 4G. Meaning a high definition film should only take about a second to download. It would also enable much touted virtual reality games.


Secondly, there will be less latency than


4G. This is important in relation to future technology; even a minute delay could make a difference when applied to a driverless car communicating with traffic lights, or a surgeon remotely controlling a laser during surgery. Finally, 5G offers greater capacity, which means more


devices can connect and communicate at the same time. This is obviously important for the Internet of Things (IoT) as we connect our heating, front door cameras and even BBQs to the web.


The challenges


That all sounds great, but can it deliver? The answer is; probably not – especially while the UK is still ranked 54th in the world for 4G coverage. There is no point in having great technology if you can only access it part of the time – especially if it relates to advances like driverless cars. The Government has consistently failed to get the operators to improve coverage and yet these same networks, Vodafone, EE, O2 and Three, all won part of the bandwidth needed for the 5G networks. So why will this auction result in a better outcome than the one for 4G?


10 www.isopps.com Dave Millett, Equinox. At least Ofcom has recognised some of its


past failures. It has said, ahead of its next auction in 2019, that “To ensure widespread improvements in mobile coverage across the UK, we are proposing to attach coverage obligations to some of the licences we will award for the 700 MHz band …. These obligations will require winning bidders to roll out improved mobile coverage in rural areas and the nations.”


But these obligations are not attached to the 5G auctions.


Forcing networks to offer free roaming across the networks would dramatically improve the


situation. You can roam free across Europe – but not in the UK. The Government is talking about 5G services being launched in 2020 at the earliest – while the USA and many countries in Asia are already way ahead of us.


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