Super-fast mobiles, autonomous cars, smart homes and uninterrupted HD streaming, just some of the things being enabled from 5G. Being rolled out in most major cities around the UK, 5G is a huge leap for both consumer and businesses capabilities. It will be a key enabler for IoT devices and in turn, transform the way we interact with each other.
What is 5G?
The fifth-generation (5G) network is the latest network to be rolled out and will be more than 10x faster than 4G. Faster latency, improved efficiency and increased capacity are just the many things 5G brings. It’s exactly what we need to advance the digital world.
And for once, the UK is at the forefront of the global 5G rollout!
So what are the changes to business that 5G brings?
Faster data transmission
The speed increases brought by 5G means home working using mobile networks will become even faster and more convenient. Mobile networks will offer a viable alternative to broadband, even in hard to reach areas. Large files will be downloaded in seconds, home workers can work faster and more efficiently and there will be no waiting or lag for VoIP, cloud applications or mobile working.
From remote working to HD video conferencing on a phone, there are many ways a business can benefit from faster networks.
More reliable networks
The increased reliability inherent within 5G technology means fewer ‘not-spots’, fewer dropouts or poor signal areas and much more reliable communications. Within a business, this should encourage collaboration and better information sharing. Outside a business, customers will always have access to staff, call centres should always have access to data and the entire communications piece will become more holistic and connected.
Reliability is key in any business so will benefit every aspect of your work.
Enabler for IoT
The 5G rollout coincides with the rise of the Internet of Things and the increased speed and capacity of 5G means it should always be up to the challenge. No more contention, no more latency, fewer outages thanks to intelligent routing and better network monitoring. IoT depends on three things, coverage, network speed and low latency. All things 5G will deliver.
If you’re planning to use the IoT to improve internal processes or offer IoT devices to customers, having the network behind you to back them up benefits everyone.
Flexibility
Remote working is already incredibly popular but depends on home broadband to work. 5G networks will bring control back to your business by ensuring all home workers use your network and not their own. If you already use a unified communications solution, imagine what you have now only much faster, more reliable and much more efficient.
Bringing home working back under your own network offers better security, the ability to track, monitor and improve, lower office running costs and deliver a more responsive service to your customers for very little outlay.
Disaster recovery
Having staff distributed across the country, or the world has another benefit. Resilience. If your office network goes down, it is unlikely 5G will too. If key workers experience power outages or broadband downtime, 5G can pick up the slack without losing time or productivity.
Distributed call centres can deliver exceptional service without the need for a physical call centre and all the costs that go with it. Unified communications mean everything can be done with phones or laptops, meaning whatever challenges your business faces, you can always maintain productivity.
The advantages of 5G for business are many. Even if some of the more ambitious promises don’t come to pass, faster, more capable networks are going to offer tangible benefits to every business out there.
