5G is the next generation of wireless technology that was designed to usher in the “connected everything” era. 1G brought analog voice to the world, 2G brought digital voice and text messaging capabilities, 3G put our mobile devices on the web, 4G offered video streaming possibilities on the mobile device and it enabled new business models such as food delivery apps, and 5G was designed with the premise of delivering unprecedented evolution and transformation beyond our imagination
Trang Bui, General Manager, C&W Vietnam commented: “For commercial real estates, real-time monitoring of assets could reduce operating costs and downtime, 5G can enable new pathways for productivity. The pandemic has shown the need to transform the way we work and collaborate, and 5G has the potential to be part of that transformation.”
In Vietnam, according to the Department of Telecommunications, in 2021, telecommunications businesses have stepped up investment in broadband infrastructure development. Up to now, 5G network has been tested in 16 provinces and cities; 4G network has covered 99.8% of the population; fibre optic network has covered 100% of communes and wards. Vietnam aims to commercialize 5G by 2022, promote smartphone use and reduce the number of 2G phones to less than 5%.
As we learn more about 5G’s capabilities, we are increasingly looking at opportunities within the Internet of Things (IoT) realm, especially as it pertains to sensors, buildings and our ability to monitor different data points around any given building. The sheer number of sensors and the amount of data is exponentially growing and 5G allows us to capture that data in real-time so that we can build smarter analytics around it. The potential in this area is huge.
One of the drivers of true technological change will be 5G’s ultra-low latency, which is the time it takes data to travel from the user to the central processor and back again, bringing data transit speed to many times less than the blink of an eye. All kinds of new applications become possible for companies like ours once you reach very low levels of latency, including robotics, autonomous vehicles, connected video, cognitive insights, immersive extended reality (XR) and combining augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR).
5G will directly impact many spaces in commercial real estate:
Smart city: As more progressive cities like New York City, Amsterdam and Singapore start adopting 5G strategies going forward, generating vast quantities of data on an hourly basis, we should see shorter wait times at traffic lights, less water waste, drivers being guided to available parking spaces, bins that report when they need emptying and more. And these areas are only going to evolve and grow as 5G becomes more available across these municipalities.
Smart homes: With more homes using connected devices, centralized servers that process data collected from these devices increase privacy risk and latency. This could address those challenges by enabling mobile or IoT devices to process data within the periphery of the home network rather than the cloud, which should enhance privacy and security while reducing latency.
Healthcare: Thanks to a myriad of connected technologies, many things could be accurately measured and monitored at home. With processing done at the edge, data could be analyzed instantly, triggering devices to either automatically adjust or alert healthcare professionals, both of which could improve the quality of care and reduce healthcare costs dramatically.
Office space: 5G network can eliminate excess core cabling and infrastructure. If companies can employ Private 5G over time, no Wi-Fi network or infrastructure would be required, just one Private 5G network. This would allow us to reduce the amount of cabling—and not having to run cabling to desks, phones and conference rooms saves a lot of time and money. It would ultimately open up a lot of possibilities for the way we design floor plans and flexible workspace going forward.
“The 5G technology can do so much for commercial real estate. Whether through robots, cars, health devices or retail, 5G will undoubtedly transform not only how we operate, but how we work, live and play going forward.” - Trang concluded.