5G-driven digital transformation solutions

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【51CTO.com Quick Translation】 According to the forecast of the research organization in 2019, by 2025, there will be 1.2 billion devices connected by 5G in the world, which will cover 34% of the world's population. Although the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the publicity and hype of 5G, it is still the most watched technology event in 2020.

With the advent of 5G, a whole new range of applications has emerged. We will witness 5G opening new doors for enterprises to provide efficient services and product innovation, thereby creating new customer groups and revenue streams on a large scale.

This article will analyze how 5G will bring changes to some industries and introduce some business cases.

1. Healthcare

The medical journal The New England Journal of Medicine pointed out in an article that the healthcare industry will generate a large amount of data, and each patient typically generates about 80MB of data per year. In another article titled "How 5G and Related Technologies Will Revolutionize the Healthcare Industry," the author mentioned four major flaws affecting the healthcare industry: lack of a patient-centric system, lack of personalization, lack of accessibility, and insufficient attention to data.

Experts believe that the impact of 5G will address these shortcomings through its lower latency capabilities and higher data collection capabilities. When hospitals adopt 5G technology, they will reduce the time to capture, transmit and manage data in real time, support high-quality real-time video through mobile networks, improve remote patient care access capabilities, and ensure enhanced network security through cloud-based data centers. With the booming development of wearable technology compatible with 5G, patients can more easily communicate with doctors remotely and update their vital signs at any time.

People expect 5G to make greater progress in changing the healthcare scenario. The COVID-19 pandemic has put tremendous pressure on medical institutions around the world, and they deserve more help.

2. Retail

According to analyst firm Statista, e-retail revenues are expected to grow to $6.54 trillion by 2022. With the introduction of 5G, retail chains around the world will be transformed with the right connectivity – reliable and fast networks, sophisticated AR/VR use cases, and warehouse-specific applications to help them achieve higher performance.

So one question remains – how can 5G help the retail industry?

• 5G will enhance the interaction between businesses and customers through immersive experience technologies such as augmented reality, mixed reality and virtual reality.
• In-store enhanced experiences, such as face-to-face virtual shopping technology.
• Facial and object recognition solutions to simplify targeted marketing and take security actions against suspicious behavior or transactions.
• Sustainable and smart energy management, such as intelligent lighting, to optimize in-store energy usage.

3. Public sector

As 5G develops, compliance with regulations will be a top concern for the public sector. The public sector recognizes the impact 5G will have, but in order to properly regulate, government agencies and the public sector must understand the technology and take full advantage of 5G while complying with the law. Due to the large amounts of data collected using 5G technology, the ongoing threat of data breaches will violate relevant laws.

However, once the technology is within the control of government agencies, the following use cases need to be discussed:

• Enhanced mobile broadband will help improve connection speeds for roles such as law enforcement officers, public service caseworkers and postal workers.
• Ultra-reliable low-latency communications will provide high reliability and low latency to power smart ports and expand the resources and capacity of healthcare systems through remote surgery.
• Large-scale machine communications for reimagined public works, such as real-time information on gas leaks and traffic jams, and efficient allocation of resources.

4. Media

In a survey commissioned by Intel, it is expected that by 2028, 5G-enabled media and entertainment experiences will generate up to $1.3 trillion in revenue worldwide. In home and industrial networks, the 5G technology stack opens up new ways to provide richer media experiences for consumer devices. This will include lightning-fast data speeds, huge bandwidth, and low network latency.

Here’s a look at how 5G will revolutionize the world of media and entertainment:

• Live and on-demand share real-time entertainment experiences from events taking place across time zones and around the world, such as concerts, sporting events and cinemas.
• Accelerate the adoption of mixed, augmented, and virtual reality for immersive consumer experiences.
• Reimagine interactive gaming and mixed reality technology by introducing mobile cloud gaming.
• Redefine audience engagement as content creators focus on increasing brand loyalty, better conversions, and targeting.

5. Manufacturing

To understand how 5G technology will transform the manufacturing industry, here are some use cases relevant to industrial operations:

• Faster wireless communications and greater reliability will enable real-time insights through edge computing.
• High-quality live video feed for surveillance.
• Remotely control distributed production lines from a central command center.
• Improved monitoring and alert systems thanks to reliable and secure networks.
• Use high-resolution augmented reality and virtual reality to perform remote maintenance and training.
• The adoption of 5G will not only boost industrial operations but can also extend seamlessly across the entire supply chain.

6. Supply Chain

Besides offering commendable speeds, 5G technology also focuses on increasing device density and reducing latency, which is said to change the way work is done across industries.

In the use cases of 5G supply chain applications, the industrial sector can achieve reliable logistics operations by automatically marking, tracking and recording shipments compared to manual tracking. This will help them solve challenges such as lost goods and misplaced containers. In terms of inventory and warehouse management, 5G will help optimize processes, enable remote maintenance and control, and provide assistance for autonomous vehicles.

Looking ahead to the future of supply chain management, 5G provides what people want - transparency across channels and the ability to ensure control is at a central command node.

7. Smart Home

Today’s smart home technology provides the user experience that 5G needs to address. 5G is designed to provide a seamless experience for home users – from the right room temperature to favorite lamp shades, entertainment facilities and kid’s suites, fitness and health equipment, and door access security features. In addition to seamlessly coordinating home devices, the technology stack will also pay more attention to improving data privacy and security from an ethical perspective.

8. Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality

A survey report released by Ericsson shows that augmented reality will account for 50% of the immersive video format market revenue by 2030. The exciting use case of augmented reality is to take the live experience and transform it into a digital experience.

When augmented and virtual reality are combined with mixed reality, experiences such as concerts, movie premieres, video games, sporting events, retail fashion, and even family planning, education, and advertising will offer exciting development prospects.

9. Transportation

5G makes logistics life simpler. The highly reliable, low-latency technology stack has proven beneficial to the transportation industry through multiple use cases. Smart sensors can monitor road conditions and measure stress levels to determine when to repair the road surface. Sensors proactively predict potholes on the road, allowing municipalities to take preventive measures. The technology will also enable cameras to provide real-time insights into traffic flow to redirect vehicles and pedestrians, improve traffic efficiency and urban safety. 5G will accelerate the popularity of self-driving cars, as well as the ability to support real-time response to vehicle safety status and automatic control to avoid collisions.

10. Internet of Things

The 5G standard provides new business cases for the Internet of Things. The technology industry realizes that it is difficult to provide end-to-end IoT solutions through cellular connectivity. It requires the right combination of multiple elements - expertise in embedded systems, connectivity, time-series-based systems, antenna design, cloud computing, etc. Telecom operators provide similar opportunities through 5G.

So, what are the future business use cases of 5G-driven IoT? The first use is improved asset tracking solutions for regularly tracking small amounts of data, energy usage, or product condition. This further helps track whether products are produced and shipped in accordance with published safety and compliance requirements. The second is critical business applications in small factories for commanding and controlling AGVs and robots. The third use is connecting assets in restaurants, cafes, and brownfield areas to the cloud, transforming them into smart devices.

11. Storage

The close connection between 5G and high-speed flash memory will create many avenues for use cases in the storage industry. First, enabling virtual 5G networks in the cloud to ensure bandwidth, latency, and quality of service. Second, by enabling resolution conversion from 4K to 8K and beyond, 5G will become the backbone of high-resolution video streaming. Third, the introduction of comprehensive cloud computing gaming will enable video games to be played online and provide the opportunity to play games anytime, anywhere.

In theory, 5G can solve some of the challenges currently faced by some industries, with its focus on seamless productivity. Enterprises will see 5G open new doors for enhanced service and product innovation, creating new customer segments and revenue streams at scale. It is clear that ultra-reliable low latency is the new currency in the network world, enabling new capabilities that were previously impossible in many industries.

Now let's wait and see the actual deployment results of 5G. What are your expectations for the launch of 5G?

Original title: 5G-Powered Digital Transformation Scenarios, author: Gaurav Aggarwal

[Translated by 51CTO. Please indicate the original translator and source as 51CTO.com when reprinting on partner sites]