Is 5G connectivity the future of the Internet of Things?

The connected space of the Internet of Things is now in an exciting position. From Zigbee to CBRS, many new protocols are being introduced and divested, and some of the oldest and most used technologies in the past are declining.

The three major US mobile operators ATT, T-Mobile and Verizon plan to shut down their 3G networks in the next 18 months. According to reports, T-Mobile will cancel the CDMA 3G network around January 1, 2022, and cancel the UMTS 3G network in April 2022, which is 6 months later than the original plan. ATT said it will shut down 3G services in February, while Verizon will stick to it for the longest time and set its sights on December. 2G and 4G networks will still exist for a long time.

Regardless of the timetable, these (and many other global mobile operators) attribute this decision to the rise of 5G and the construction of their own 5G connectivity network.

 

The introduction of 5G now seems inevitable, and it may be a good thing, not just for consumers who want to watch all the delicious high-definition Vimeo content without buffering. From retail and smart building managers to Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and supply chain companies, IoT vendors are eager to provide every end user with all the benefits without any negative impact.

 

There are many skeptics who believe that we do not need 5G yet, are not sure about the economics and costs involved in infrastructure construction and bandwidth usage, and believe that it is only effective in very few cases, if at all.

 

They will either keep up or be left behind; this seems to be because the global avalanche of 5G installations and initiatives will only increase momentum.

 

Let's take a look at some of the recently announced 5G connection extensions and installations, shall we? (Note: this is not an exhaustive list.)

 

5G expansion

Spain

According to a recent report, Spain is ready to grant spectrum in the 26 GHz band, which is the last allocated band, and will clearly stipulate the provision of 5G. According to a recent announcement by Roberto Sánchez, Secretary of State for Telefónica and Smart Infrastructure, these awards appear to be awarded from now to early 2022.

 

In July this year, Telefónica, Vodafone and Orange bought 700 MHz from the Spanish government for a total of US$1.3 billion. The government also confirmed that each permit is valid for 20 years, up to 40 years.

Brazil

Telefónica (Telef?nica) did not stay in Spain either. Enterprise IoT Insights recently reported that Telefónica (Telef?nica) will begin to roll out 5G in Brazil in October, and all national operators in the country have been required to start 5G work within 12 months. According to reports, Brazil's Telef?nica brand vivo invests billions of dollars in technology and innovation projects every year to promote 5G and artificial intelligence.

 

Australia

Telstra recently announced that it will widely deploy Ericsson's cloud-native dual-mode 5G Core across Australia. The goal is to support its ambition to address the increasingly digitalization of enterprises, industries, and emerging B2B2X market segments. The company is launching 5G Standalone (SA), using a single software platform to manage EPC and new 5GC network functions (NFS).

 

In addition, in Australia, Microsoft and Nokia recently signed an agreement with the South Australia Department of Trade and Investment to explore the combination of 5G and satellite connections at the edge to support digital transformation and IoT solutions. According to reports, Microsoft's Azure space team, South Australia development website Lot 14, Australia Space Simulation Innovation Machine Learning Institute and Stone&Chalk have joined forces to support space startups and innovation. Nokia will also expand its existing Adelaide 5G field force, provide 5G engineering resources, and jointly develop use cases with the Microsoft Azure space team and South Australian industry.

Nigeria

According to the announcement, Nigeria's national policy for the 5G network of digital economy has been approved by the Federal Executive Committee of Nigeria and will take effect immediately. The Nigerian National Frequency Management Committee will soon release the spectrum to the Nigerian Mobile Network Operators Communications Committee, which is expected to be launched soon. Prior to approval, the committee signed a memorandum of understanding to promote the release of continuous C-band spectrum for the early deployment of 5G networks in Nigeria.

 

India

In an interesting case, India is very cautious about 5G deployment across the country. Fierce Wireless recently reported that the Indian government has only released 6 months of 5G spectrum for testing by all parties involved. The plan is to help telecom providers in the country prepare networks for 5G and develop specific 5G use cases in India. According to analysts, these trials are already underway, but the rollout of 5G itself will take at least a year, if not longer. Indian telecommunications companies Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea are testing 5G non-standalone (NSA), and Reliance Jio is considering 5G standalone (SA). Airtel has already tested 5G in the 1800 Mhz frequency band.

 

The Indian government has not announced plans to auction 5G connection spectrum. The report shows that this plan will not be implemented until next year, which means that we may not see deployment until the end of 2022 or even 2023. There is also the issue of 5Gi, which is a technology that is lower than the 5G standard. Although its deployment cost and hardware requirements are expected to be higher, it has been approved by the Ministry of Communications of India.  The government requested a trial of 5Gi, but no one has announced plans to conduct such a trial.

American cities

Verizon is rolling out millimeter wave (mmWave) in cities across the United States. According to the carrier, the latest ones are Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Athens, Georgia, Orlando, Florida, and Fremont, California, bringing the total to 82 cities (at least some cities). The company's fixed 5G home service is also expanding and is now available in Orlando, Pensacola, Sarasota, Florida, Freeman, California, and Niagara Falls, New York. This makes Verizon's 5G home service now available in parts of 57 cities.

 

Dish Network has applied for a temporary license from the FCC to use a 600 MHz frequency band license owned by another licensee to conduct 5G tests in Las Vegas and Denver. The company said it will test carrier aggregation where its licenses are insufficient. The test will end no later than this year, and the spectrum will only be used for testing and not for commercial purposes.

 

5G connection growth has a lot to cover, so please be aware that next week, I will study 5G use cases in depth. These cases have been studied in this field and are expected to appear soon.