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Eduard Martín and 5G: “It has 100 times more capacity and speed than 4G”
26 de February de 2020
What is 5G and what impact will it have? Find out with Eduard Martín, the CIO of the Mobile World Capital, in this summary of the webinar given on 20th February
5G is now a reality. How will it change our lives?
5G is now a reality. This disruptive technology is set to transform the world and is likely to affect every aspect of our day-to-day lives. Its power, scope and intelligence are expected to be the driving force behind a digital society in which being connected to the Internet will be as essential as breathing or eating. However, before getting down to the nuts and bolts of the issue, let’s have a quick overview of 5G. What is it really? What are its key characteristics and what changes will its implementation bring? The Director of the 5G program of the Mobile World Capital (MWC), Eduard Martín, gave us the answers to these questions in a webinar held on 20th February. Let’s find out more!
“The implementation of 5G is set to generate 113 billion euros a year and create over
2.3 million jobs”.
Eduard Martin
Director of the 5G Program and CIO of Mobile World Capital
What does MWC do and when was it founded?
Before starting the webinar, the moderator focused on Mobile World Capital and asked Martín about his role within the organization. The CIO explained that “MWC was founded when Barcelona became the capital of mobile technologies”. From that moment onwards, the huge boom in mobile technologies incentivized the development of foundations that would boost and shape technological evolution.
And what does MWC do now?
“At the moment, we are working in 4 key areas”, explained Martín:
1) Innovation: This area involves the creation of companies specializing in digital services and the shift towards digital. MWC supports and leads initiatives that promote this transformation.
2) Program designed to foster digital talent: “There is a lack of digital talent, not because of a shortage of people, but rather a shortage of companies training staff”. With this in mind, one of MWC’s main objectives is to help strengthen digital talent.
3) Digital Future Society: “This involves reflecting on ethics and the impact that the digital boom is having on society in terms of issues such as human relationships”.
4) Technological program: This analyses how technology is influencing the configuration of companies and how 5G networks with improve the whole industry.
“5G represents a profound change and a huge disruption”
What are the most significant changes related to 5G?
In response to this question, Martín highlighted two big changes, the first at an infrastructure and technology level, and the second at a cultural level. To explain it better, he gave an overview of the evolution of the generations of mobile technologies:
1G: The first generation saw the appearance of wireless telephones. At the time, they used large antennas to transmit the signal and the idea of telephones outside the home was still groundbreaking, so it was a huge change to see them without wires.
2G: The second generation came with the development of text messages. SMS was a massive revolution, as it expanded the use of mobiles and showed that it was possible to use for far more than just voice communication.
3G: The third generation represented perhaps the most important leap forward for mobile technologies, because this marked the point at which “we stopped carrying around telephones and started using smartphones that are practically like computers”. This was a paradigm shift: not only did we start browsing the Internet and receiving emails, but a completely new industry emerged: apps. “The impact of 3G forced technology to advance like it had never done before”.
4G: The fourth generation “is a harder step forward to explain” but, in short, its contribution was basically the capacity to use and share multimedia content.
5G: Finally, the fifth generation has arrived. Martin explained that “a change in the architecture and the devices was needed in order to improve the communication channels. We had to do things differently to streamline the endless increase is traffic. 5G represents a step forward in terms of the connection being much faster and being able to support the large amount of data that are required nowadays. It also introduces the concept of distribution infrastructure: large antennas and small cells (small antennas distributed in a mesh throughout all the traffic to prevent jams).
“If I go onto a street right now with perfect 4G coverage and try to download a medium-quality 2-hour film, it’ll take me around 8 minutes. With 5G, it’ll take me 8 seconds”.
What about the characteristics? What features should we bear in mind when we talk about 5G connection?
The CIO of MWC highlight the following 3 key characteristics of 5G:
- Improved broadband: 5G networks can sustain up to 100 times more capacity and 100 times more speed in than the 4G connection. “This will streamline Internet traffic and enable new tools and apps to work perfectly, no matter how heavy they are”.
- Ultra-reliable low latency: The latency of 4G is around 50 to 60 milliseconds. In the case of the 5G network, it is set to be less than 5 milliseconds. “This means that there will be far fewer delays in the network”.
“A driverless car cannot afford to brake with a second’s delay, just like surgical operations or fires cannot wait. With 5G connection, we can implement these technologies without any problem”.
- Mass IoT: “It is calculated that there are currently around 8 billion devices connected to the Internet and this will continue to rise. In the future, everything will be connected to the web”. The massive increase in online devices will decrease quality but, with the implementation of 5G, as many as 1,000,000 devices can connect to the Internet in a single square kilometre.
Therefore, 5G is the technology that will enable the development and evolution of a fully digital society. Artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and robotics are set to transform every aspect of our everyday lives, and this is only possible thanks to the power, scope and intelligence of 5G connection.
Although its implementation is still in progress, as mentioned above, it is now a reality, so it is only a matter of time before the power of 5G is just a click away. Are you ready for it?