5G: A Real Game Changer For Smart Cities?!

Each and every generation of mobile connectivity has introduced us to something brand new.

The first generation (1G) introduced the analog voice calling which was expensive, unreliable and was used by very few.

The second generation (2G) introduced the digital voice calling which increased the number of subscribers and was cheap compared to analog voice calling.

Then came third generation (3G) which introduced a intermediate standard that allows users to use phone for both voice and data, which spread the new trend of mobile internet – use of smartphones and in particular the applications proliferated.

Now we are using 4G/LTE that has paved the way for mobile broadband, the explosion of social media and the instantaneous cab hiring services.

We see that every generation of internet connectivity has ushered in a new trend into the society. And the impact of the trend is so powerful that it has changed the way we live – completely different from the life before 20 years.

In recent times, we have been talking about 5G wireless technology that will usher in a new era of driver less cars, smart cities, smart buildings and much more. It will densely connect the world more than ever taking Internet of Things (IoT) to the next level of advancement.

''5G is a revolution in an evolution.''

As per the predictive analysis of Gartner, 5G will be launched by 2020 by 3% of the network-based mobile CSPs (20 to 30 mobile network operators), including commercial service providers in the United States, South Korea, Japan, China, Australia, Singapore, Russia, Middle East and European Union countries. With the launch, 20.4 billion connected things will be used all over the world.

''5G mobile connectivity will be powered by a new stand-alone network infrastructure. This will give rise to deployment of enormous number of IoT devices and sensors. It will play a key role in fulfilling the large-scale IoT projects and strengthening the interconnected world with more stability.''

Many cities currently face a variety of significant challenges in the process of providing enhancing safety, increasing energy efficiency, improving air quality, making transportation more efficient and boosting overall quality of life for residents and visitors alike. The impetus for making cities smarter is driven by the need to address these challenges, and communication networks will be a key tool in the city planner’s toolbox.

Smart city services will demand an advanced infrastructure that can deliver enormous data capacity which can be accessed from anywhere at any time. From a practical point of view, this means that a substantial portion of this infrastructure needs to be wireless. However, existing mobile communication networks will soon be insufficient - in terms of data capacity and throughput - to support the substantially increasing numbers of users, devices, applications and associated data requirements anticipated in most smart city scenarios. This will create bottlenecks that can threaten the realization of smart city aspirations.

The natural answer to this challenge is 5G wireless technology, which promises to deliver substantial increases in data speeds and capacity, as well as equally critical reductions in latency.

To deliver on this promise, however, 5G needs to use higher radio frequencies(preferably mm-waves), which cover a smaller geographic footprint due to the limited propagation of the radio signals, yet can support much higher data rates. As a result, 5G networks will require dense network of antennas - in the form of small cells - packed together much more closely than is typical with today’s macro networks.

This 5G advantage will further provide the salient areas of the urban settlements with a few smart facilities as mentioned below.

Smart Traffic Management – Network with a greater speed will enable the smart street lights (with 5G enabled sensors) to monitor the traffic flow. Car navigation system will help the drivers to optimize their route by avoiding traffic jams and spot a parking lot instantly. Intelligent intersection management solutions enable us to collect traffic flow data like speed, congestion, vehicle counts, red-light violations and other metrics to help cities manage day-to-day traffic in near real time.

Smart Grids – Grids connected with 5G will balance the loads and reduce electricity peaks significantly. During blackouts, it will diagnose the problem in real-time and shift the load to other available transformer/device.

Connected Cars – The latency issues with 4G are not aligning well with the safety of automated vehicles. Driver less cars that are powered by artificial intelligence require a better bandwidth. 5G has the capacity to resolve the latency, and bandwidth issues making the autonomous vehicle reliable. The enhance coverage and speed offered by 5G will enable vehicles to connect with each other (V2V) and the road (V2X), exchange data and alert drivers of potential collisions. The super fast response from the data center will be utilized in making the vehicles much safer.

Smart Homes – Currently, there are very few smart homes found in the world. But with 5G rolled out, people will have their dwellings transformed smartly. 5G will enable users to communicate with Air conditioners, refrigerators, lighting's and other home appliances remotely using smartphones.

Smart Healthcare – Advent of 5G will pave a way to new possibilities in imaging, diagnostics, data analytics and treatment. The super fast connectivity and connected IoT devices will curtail the response time and provide faster emergency services. Wearable devices with smart sensors will be able to monitor vital parameters of different organs and hence helps in minimizing the health risks.

In the not-too-distant future, our cities will become much more smarter, cleaner, and safer places to live. The disparate facilities we rely on will be able to communicate with one another, boosting their speed & efficiency and helping to minimize the hazards of modern city living such as congestion, pollution and excessive energy consumption. At the heart of each of these smart cities will be a 5G network!!?

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