Meta Description: The integrated ecosystem of 5G and IoT has the capability to transform the fortunes of businesses provided these new technologies are synergistically combined with each other.
Integrating 5G and IoT: What do numbers say?
Sample the following statistics and you’ll instantly realize the enormous potential that the integration of 5G technology in IoT devices offers:
- According to Cisco, a total of 500 billion IoT devices will be integrated with 5G technology in near future. This number includes sensors, actuators, scanners, and medical devices among others.
- Another credible name in the IT industry, Ericsson AB has predicted that by the end of 2022, a total of 550 million 5G subscribers will be part of the latest iteration of mobile broadband. The report further reveals that 5G integration in IoT devices will witness an unprecedented rise in the next couple of years.
- Asia Pacific will become the second-fastest-growing hub of the 5G network and account for approximately 10% of the global subscribers base. This revolution in the customer segment will also spill over to the industrial sector and catalyze the adoption of 5G in IoT devices.
What are IoT and 5G technology?
The prospects of 5G technology and its implications for IoT devices have been a matter of profound interest for experts in the Information Technology Sector. Given the phenomenal rise estimated in the number of IoT devices from 16.4 billion to 30.9 billion units by 2025, the evolution of 5G technology is a must for seamless communication between these large number of devices.
The 5G technology, aka fifth-generation network, is the next iteration of the broadband cellular network. It’s capable of offering wider bandwidths and data speeds of up to 20 Gigabytes per second (20 Gbps). When integrated with IoT devices, the 5G network has the potential to transform the face of many businesses cutting across industries. Some of the sectors that can be immensely benefited from the combination of 5G and IoT devices include the Healthcare Sector, Transportation Industry, Energy and Power, and Education Sector among others.
IoT Devices: Data aggregation and information extraction
IoT devices play a crucial role in collecting, aggregating, and analysing data from a wide variety of resources. This data then goes under the analysis process which results in the extraction of actionable information that can be used for making important strategic and tactical decisions related to organisations.
Take, for instance, the use of IoT devices in the Healthcare Sector. Today, a wide variety of customers’ data in hospitals, health centres, infirmaries, etc., is recorded on IoT devices. The collected data is then used for extracting information on various health parameters of patients such as their age, gender, health problems, etc. Subsequently, this data is used by a number of different stakeholders including doctors, patients, pharma companies, and drug sellers to devise their policy frameworks, action plans, and market strategies.
5G and IoT: Complementing forces
Now all the data collection and aggregation can be done more efficiently if IoT devices are seamlessly connected with each other and this is exactly where the relevance of a fast and reliable 5G Network comes into the picture. Given the high-speed data transfer of the 5G network, IoT devices can work with far greater efficiency than what they are capable of doing with 4G networks. In sum, a fully matured and evolved 5G network is a prerequisite for IoT devices to realise their full potential.
In terms of benefits for specific industries, 5G technology and IoT devices are capable of changing the fortunes of many industries. Following are some specific highlights that point toward the enormous potential the integration of these technologies is capable of offering to businesses:
- 5G technology has carved a place for itself thanks to its distinctive efficiency, speed, and latency features. Further, 5G technology offers top-of-the-line safety and security which coupled with new-gen IoT devices can offer giant leaps of progress in autonomous driving, drone operations, virtual reality, digital finance, and a number of AI applications in different businesses.
- 5G networks will specifically empower the businesses in the healthcare industry, education, transportation, supply chain, and manufacturing industry. We are already witnessing an exponential rise in the use of 5G-enabled IoT devices in the healthcare sector. In the education sector, the coming together of 5G and IoT will lead to a more interactive virtual learning and immersive experience for students. Transportation and logistics will also draw benefits from the convolution of these new technologies through the use of real-time tracking, electronic data interchange, and automatic replenishment of stocks. Using the high-speed internet in IoT devices, the manufacturing industry can use the concept of remote access, repair, and maintenance which will be truly transformational for the industry.
Need for holistic 5G and IoT ecosystem
To realize the full potential of 5G and IoT devices, we need to build an integrated ecosystem of 5G networks and IoT devices. It’s only the seamless integration of both these technologies that can help industries to make giant leaps across the value chain. Right from sourcing raw materials to manufacturing products and from sales and marketing to the actual customer buying, we need to strive for creating a holistic ecosystem. This, in turn, will become instrumental in deriving synergies for businesses across their value chain and participating stakeholders.
Disclaimer
Views expressed above are the author’s own.
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