Here’s this week’s rundown of the top 5 stories of 5G news about emerging and innovative technologies. To follow the series, check back here every week and look out for #5Gin5 posts from @Facesof5G.

1. Work from Home Enhanced by 5G— Faster speeds and lower latency with 5G will improve the quality of teleconferencing and downloading large files while working from home. These benefits will translate to other areas of life too. “The concept of both high speed to have real, face-to-face conversations without any buffer, and instant information with low latency is important for things like cardiac patients, who need to translate real-time health updates to their doctor and receive guidance,” says Max Silber, Vice President Mobility at MetTel. Read more here.
2. 5G Didn’t Cause the COVID-19 Outbreak—Across the world, conspiracy theories have linked 5G and the novel coronavirus. Recently, providers have seen vandalism of cell towers and false connections between the disease and 5G. “There are no indications from scientific studies that 5G, or any other G, affects the immune system…If that would be the case, we would have seen effects on the scale and severity of infectious diseases already decades ago. And we don’t,” says Eric van Rongen, Chair of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection. Read more here.
3. 5G Expanding U.S. Job Markets— 5G is slated to create millions of new U.S. jobs and become integral to America’s competitiveness in the global marketplace. As increased global competition begins, American innovators will be incentivized to generate groundbreaking 5G technologies. “It could allow firefighters to use thermal imaging to see through smoke and locate victims more easily. It could help specialists perform remote robotic surgery on patients who are far away. … Such developments could revolutionize the technological landscape,” explains Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL). Read more here.
4. 5G Empowering Local Communities— Local municipalities often struggle developing a data architecture that can support the increased volume of data, but 5G will help bridge the gaps and support current systems. First responders are a perfect example of how local governments could benefit from next generation technology. With 5G, a 911 dispatcher can quickly pinpoint a caller’s location and “law enforcement can leverage the network to combat crime and gain better situational awareness as they respond to incidents,” says Dell Technologies CTO Rob Silverberg. Read more here.
5. 5G to Overhaul Supply Chains— Today, businesses and suppliers usually have a rough idea of where goods are, what condition they’re in, and if they’re needed at a particular destination. But as Wall Street Journal reporter James Rundle writes, that will change with 5G: “The technology already exists to measure these data points, but there are limits in current 4G networks to how many sensors, cameras and other internet-connected devices can be supported at any one time. The enhanced bandwidth and stability that 5G offers will enable far more devices to be live on a single connection, allowing much more gathering and sharing of data in granular detail.” Read more here.