Happy New Year! Here’s this week’s rundown of our top 5 stories about 5G and innovative technologies. To follow the series, check back here every week and look out for #5Gin5 posts from @Facesof5G.
1. Top Takeaways from CES – “5G is going to be a big deal, but maybe not the way you think,” writes Barron’s Eric Savitz. It is predicted that 200 million 5G smartphones will be sold in 2020, but as Savitz says, “The real opportunity is going to be at the edge of the network, where companies of every stripe will take advantage of 5G’s ability to connect a million devices to a single cell site.” Read more here.
2. U.S. vs. China in the 5G Era – “The 5G era is well underway in China,” says the Center for a New American Security’s Elsa Kania, who also notes that the first 5G-enabled brain surgery happened in a Chinese hospital last year. The U.S. led the world with 4G. If it wants to beat China and retain that position with 5G, Kania says, “In 2020, a resolution for policymakers should be to advance the debate on 5G to enhance American competitiveness for this coming decade.” Read more here.
3. Revolutionizing Agriculture –“The third agricultural revolution is what we’re living through today… But it’s no longer working for farmers,” Sam Watson-Jones of Small Robot Company said. Advanced connectivity and 5G will play big roles in powering the fourth agricultural revolution and open up new possibilities. As Watson-Jones explained, “We’re moving away from thinking about our fields, to gathering data and taking action on the individual plant – every single plant in your field.” Read more here.
4. Smart City Benefits – Lowell Crow, City Manager of Freeport (IL), and Curt Suttman, Director of Freeport’s Information Technology, discuss how “5G will enable the use of autonomous vehicles and drones, create new opportunities for citizen engagement, and enhance the tools available for our mobile workforce.” Read more here.
5. Getting Ready for 5G – Transworld Data’s Mary Shacklett writes, “companies can’t afford to […] totally sit on the sidelines without a 5G game plan in place.” Most IT appliances and networks can’t support 5G, so she suggests that CIOs and IT strategic planners get ready by assessing their business, assessing their infrastructure, and right-sizing their enterprise IT for 5G. Read more here.
