We are now living in a world of smart phones and smart TV’s - with 5G's superfast speeds, millisecond lag time and mass connectivity, it would support a whole new world of smart technology - a world where cities would be called ‘smart cities’, factories would be called ‘smart factories’ and homes would be called ‘smart homes’.
The world around us is quickly changing and we are moving into a world of artificial Intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, self-driving cars, drones, and devices that can monitor and report instantly to anywhere, on just about anything from health, to exactly where a tennis ball has landed - 5G will make all this possible and is set to become our reality.
5G will allow for a futuristic world of extended reality, artificial intelligence and edge computing in every industry - with possibilities as far as the mind can imagine.
5G is geared towards enabling real-time data communication, automation and performance optimisation in almost every Industry - from improved healthcare, governance, banking, athletics, public transport, gaming, education to autonomous vehicles and more.
According to Ericsson research, conducted between 2018 and 2020, the number of 5G mobile subscriptions worldwide is forecast to exceed 2.7 billion by 2025, with majority of subscriptions in North East Asia, North America, and Western Europe.
According to IDC research, conducted between 2018 and 2020, The prognosis for worldwide spending on IoT by 2023 was 1.1 trillion U.S. dollars, as estimated in 2019. Security, reducing operational costs and improving efficiency were the main reasons for adopting IoT solutions. Technology spending into smart city initiatives reached 104 billion U.S. dollars worldwide in 2019.
According to Canalys research, conducted between 2019 to 2021, 5G-enabled smartphones accounted for only one percent of the total smartphone shipments worldwide, in 2019, with an increase to 20 percent in 2020. 5G-enabled smartphones are forecast to gain market share, and reach 69 percent by 2023, overtaking 4G shipments.
According to Pwc research, conducted in 2021, The economic impact of 5G will reach 484 billion U.S. dollars (in 2019 value) to gross domestic product (GDP) in the United States by 2030. China will add 220 billion U.S. dollars to their GDP from 5G by 2030.
In projected revenue data from Accenture, the information and communications industry is expected to benefit the most economically with an estimated $251 billion contribution to U.S. GDP between 2021 and 2025. The real estate and business services industries, each projected to contribute $190 billion and $187 billion, respectively, in the next five years. Other industries, like manufacturing, insurance and healthcare, are also expected to benefit greatly from widespread 5G use.
According to research conducted by Accenture, in 2021, 5G could contribute to a total of over 16 million potential new jobs in the United States (U.S.) from 2021 to 2025.
Average 4G and 5G download speeds in selected countries
According to research conducted by Open Signal between July 1 and September 28 of 2020, 5G speed can vary greatly from country to country, for example in the U.S, 5G is only 1.8 times the speed of 4G, with an average speed of 52 Mbps. While in Saudi Arabia, 5G is 12.53 times that of 4G, with an average speed of 377.2 Mbps. In Switzerland, 5G is about 3.6 times the speed of 4G, with an average speed of 165.6 Mbps.
| 4G/LTE | 5G | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Download speed (peak) Gigabit/s | 1 | 20 | |
| Download speed (real world) Mbps | 10 | 100 | |
| Maximum Bandwidth (Megahertz) | 100 | 1000 | |
| Latency (lag) (milliseconds) | 10 | 1 | Maximum no. of carriers | 500,000 | 160 x 1015 |
Source: Statista - Android Authority
Research was carried out to find the Top 10 cities with the fastest 5G speeds - Calgary in North America is the 10th city with the fastest speed of 184.1 Mbps and Jeonju in South Korea comes in first, as the city with the fastest speed of 415 Mbps.
Source: Statista - Open Signal