I've learned a lot! 5G is actually "changing society" in this way

Smart cities, smart grids, smart grazing/planting, real-time logistics tracking, remote driving, industrial control... are all likely to come with the 5G era.

"The Internet connects humans, and the Internet of Things connects society." Recently, at the "Mobile World Congress" held in Shanghai, "Internet of Things" and "5G" have unsurprisingly become the hottest words.

The development of mobile communication technology has always played an important role in promoting the progress of all mankind. A few years ago, we were still using the "slow" 2G network; today, the 4G network has almost become the "standard" in our lives. As the "new generation of mobile communication system for 2020", 5G mobile communication technology is no longer a concept in the future, it has become a reality in the present.

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If 4G changes life, then 5G will change society

A few years ago, we were still using the slow 2G network, which was so slow that even loading a picture was extremely slow; but today, 4G network has almost become the "standard configuration" in our lives, and using the online network to view pictures and videos has become a common occurrence.

Humans have never stopped pursuing faster communication speeds. The evolution of communication technology, from the initial telegraph and telephone to mobile communication technology, is all about communication between people. It can be said that "convenient communication" has driven the development of the communication industry. In today's environment where live streaming, virtual reality, and 4K video are becoming increasingly popular, users' requirements for the network are getting higher and higher. To meet users' growing network needs, a mobile network with higher bandwidth, lower latency, and wider coverage is essential, and 5G is a network that can meet these needs.

So, what is 5G network?

"G" is the abbreviation of "Generation" in English. It is not difficult to understand that 5G is the fifth generation of mobile communication technology. Looking back, the first generation of mobile communication technology is analog technology, which can only provide voice calls of low quality; the second generation of mobile communication technology realizes digital voice communication, which can provide clear digital voice calls and extremely slow data transmission services; the third generation of mobile communication technology is the 3G technology we are familiar with, which is characterized by multimedia communication and can provide voice and data services at the same time; the fourth generation of mobile communication technology is the 4G technology that is being rolled out, and its communication rate is greatly improved, and 1K high-definition video programs can be watched smoothly online; and the fifth generation of mobile communication technology can carry more device connections, have faster responses, and transmit larger traffic.

Many people will ask: What can 5G do? In short, in addition to all the functions of 4G networks, one of the most important features of 5G is the Internet of Everything. If 4G changes life, then 5G will "change society"; if 1G and 2G are text messages, 3G is photos, and 4G is images, then 5G will be virtual reality and the Internet of Everything.

The Internet of Everything Brought by 5G

In terms of communication technology itself, 5G network has three main characteristics: extremely high speed, extremely large capacity, and extremely low latency. So, what changes will 5G network bring to our lives? Next, let's talk about these three aspects.

When it comes to 5G, the first thing that comes to mind is "fast". This is inevitable. The current peak speed of 4G network is 75Mbps. In terms of speed, the goal of 5G will be to reach 10Gbps, which is more than 100 times the speed of 4G network. Therefore, the download speed of 5G network can reach 1-10G per second. In other words, under the 5G network, a 4G high-definition movie can be downloaded in about 1 second.

If the 5G era arrives, 4K videos and even 8K videos will be able to be played smoothly in real time; cloud technology will be better utilized, and "cloud" will be present in life, work, and entertainment; on the other hand, the extremely high network speed also means that hard drives will be replaced by cloud drives, and large files can be uploaded to the cloud anytime and anywhere.

In addition, the delay of 5G network is only one millionth of a second, which is a speed that humans cannot perceive and is about 50 times faster than 4G network. Its reliability is equivalent to that of fiber optic connection, which can ensure that sudden interruption will not occur again, which is crucial for safety.

Since 4G, the smart home industry has emerged, but it is only in the early stages of smart life. 4G is still a long way from the real "Internet of Everything", and 5G's huge traffic will provide the necessary conditions for "Internet of Everything". By then, humans may really be able to live a smart life of "clothing comes to hand, food comes to mouth":

In the morning, your pillow, quilt or bed will wake you up from your sleep in a more natural and gentle way, and the curtains and lights in the room that need to be turned on will open automatically for you; when you go to the bathroom, the light, water temperature and even the temperature of the toilet seat will be adjusted for you; after washing and dressing, your basic physical examination data has been detected through the household items you use. If further examination is necessary, you will be reminded to go to the hospital for examination.

When you open the door, your self-driving car has already driven automatically from the garage or parking space to the downstairs. You only need to enter the destination and requirements (avoid congestion or the shortest distance), and your car will automatically plan the route. At this time, you can put on the VR helmet and enter a virtual world, in which you can interact with others, play games and even "physical contact"...

Of course, the changes brought about by 5G networks are far more than that; smart cities, smart grids, smart grazing/planting, real-time logistics tracking, remote driving, industrial control... are all likely to come with the 5G era.

5G commercialization time is expected to be advanced

2020 is the time point for 5G commercialization, which is recognized both domestically and internationally. However, some media have pointed out recently that with the promotion of the government and the accelerated layout of all parties in the industrial chain, this time point may be advanced.

The "Information and Communication Industry Development Plan (2016-2020)" previously released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology clearly stated that 5G commercial services will be launched in 2020. According to the 5G promotion work deployment proposed by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other departments and the 5G commercial plans of the three major operators, my country will launch the second phase of 5G network testing this year, conduct large-scale trial networking in 2018, and on this basis, start 5G network construction in 2019, and officially launch commercial services as early as 2020.

Recently, Wen Ku, director of the Information and Communications Development Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, revealed that my country's 5G research and development has entered the second phase of testing and will continue to keep pace with foreign countries. It is expected to be completed by the end of 2017.

It is also reported that Zhu Hao from the Technical Standards Institute of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology said that MEC (Mobile Edge Computing) is the focus of the second phase of 5G trials. The industry believes that large-scale deployment of MEC will accelerate the commercialization of 5G.

Qualcomm China Chairman Meng Pu said: "The industry has always believed that 2020 is the time for 5G commercialization. Now everyone has seen the benefits that 5G brings to the industry, such as supporting autonomous driving and massive deployment of smart terminals. The industry has a great demand to advance the time." Verizon, the largest mobile communications giant in the United States, announced that it will conduct 5G trial operations in 11 cities in the United States this year. This means that 5G services will officially begin to be open to the consumer market.

5G is here, and users are most concerned about the charges. Today, the three major domestic operators have announced that they will no longer invest in 2G network construction. It is very likely that the 2G network will be cancelled before 5G arrives; and once the 2G network is shut down, the 2G equipment previously built on the base station can be directly dismantled and replaced with new equipment, saving a lot of base station site selection and construction costs. In fact, every technological upgrade in the communications industry, whether from 2G to 3G or to 4G, will reduce charges. In a word, communication fees will become cheaper and cheaper.

In addition, the future 5G technology standard is expected to achieve a single standard, and users only need one mobile phone to roam around the world. As a result, the cost of mobile phone terminals will also decrease.