50% of CIO panel members predict that 5G will drive the development of the Internet of Things

A panel of 12 technology experts (also known as the CIO Panel) has been publishing their thoughts on IoT several times over the past year. In their latest report, 50% of the panel members declared that they believe 5G will drive the development of IoT.

This is an interesting point, as 5G is hailed as the most cutting-edge technology. Even more interesting is that half of the panelists believe this is not the case. So, where does the panel stand?

[[315131]]

What did they ask?

Before we get into the meat of the conversation, it’s important to analyze the question the panel asked. The question was “Do you think 5G will accelerate IoT adoption in your industry?”

This means that the respondents' answers are related to the industry they are in. So, what are the arguments for and against this question?

Respondents said “yes”

First up is Emil Sayegh, CEO of Ntirety, a cloud services provider, who believes 5G will help the Internet of Things:

“5G is essential for mission-critical services such as self-driving cars or robotic surgery. These services require instant and ultra-low latency communications that are independent of location, and the quality of service in rural areas must be the same as in cities. These IoT services require an IT infrastructure that is tightly coupled with 5G deployment to minimize latency and provide a high level of service quality.”

Emil Sayegh is tackling areas of the Internet of Things that current mobile networks can’t address. Self-driving cars and surgery require more bandwidth than 4G can provide, and 5G is the answer.

Roger Berg, vice president of North American R&D at DENSO, said 5G will accelerate industry adoption. DENSO is an automotive company and he believes 5G will be a big help for self-driving cars. He added that companies should work together to help these cars communicate with each other to make the future of self-driving cars a reality.

Alan DiCicco, senior marketing director of Calix Solutions, focused on the power consumption potential of 5G. He said that 5G will provide space for more devices to access the Internet, with lower latency speeds and low power consumption, which is beneficial to all areas.

Respondents said “No”

5G is looking promising right now, so what are the naysayers saying? John Gracyalny of Coast Central Credit Union claims that IoT works just fine on 4G networks, and that 5G’s main feature is speed — but speed isn’t what IoT devices really need.

Eric Shashoua, CEO of Kiwi for Gmail, gave a surprising answer of “no”:

“In the enterprise production space, 5G availability is still erratic and unreliable for deploying IoT devices. This fact also limits the potential scope of existing IoT applications. IoT will thrive in an environment where devices can connect to the cloud anywhere and at low cost, but 5G cannot do that yet. Low-cost, ubiquitous connectivity at 3G speeds will make 80% of the IoT dream a reality.”

Eric Shashua said 5G may help, but right now, migrating IoT to 5G is not feasible. Maybe in a few years, when 5G becomes the norm, Eric may change his stance. However, for now, he is clear on the current state of IoT and 5G.

Is 5G the future of IoT?

Personally, I feel like both sides make a good point. Those who say "yes" have some great use cases for 5G, but they are more of an idealistic view of 5G networks. We may see them in 3-5 years, but not this year.

Those who say "no" are pessimistic about what 5G can offer. These naysayers are more realistic about the limitations of current technology, focusing on what we have now rather than what we might get in the future. Perhaps in the future, as 5G develops, they will change their views.