The US Government and MNOs are now looking to bring the next-generation mobile network, in order to meet the ever-rising public demand for higher speed and faster audio and video streaming. They are now trying to find out ways and means whereby they can provide the powerful 5G network.
Good Fit for Rural Areas
This 5G network has a very high frequency and is extremely efficient when it works. However, it is not strong enough to move through walls – this would make it difficult for providers to offer users uninterrupted long-range services. Experts believe that this network could prove to be a good fit in rural areas, where there are more open spaces. This would also be a cheaper method to provide high-speed mobile Internet in these areas.
When 5G Can be Expected to Arrive?
Existing 4G mobile users can afford to relax for now, as the next-generation mobile network is not really expected to come anytime soon. Verizon was planning to launch its 5G trials as early as 2016, while also working on improving its current 4G service. Companies such as Samsung have also indicated their interest to invest in the next big thing as regards mobile communication.
In October this year, the FCC started allowing companies to conduct research and trials to build the new network. However, industry experts opine that the demand for 5G networks would fully evolve only by the year 2020. According to some surveys, on a global scale, the US is only in the tenth place with regard to using high-speed mobile Internet. As per these surveys, less than 80 percent of United States users can access 4G networks. Hence, it will have to speed up its approach, if it has to be at par with the other leaders.
Ericsson Mobility Report for 5G Mobile
The Ericsson Mobility Report, which is one of the leading resources bringing mobile data traffic trends and updates, gives detailed information on the future of 5G networks.
According to this report, the number of 5G subscribers will touch 150 million by the year 2021.
It further predicts that Japan, China, South Korea and the US will be pioneers in supplying the fast and powerful new network connections. Eventually, 5G will power a variety of devices; mobile and otherwise; also ruling the IoT (Internet of Things).
The last couple of years have seen a significant increase in mobile video usage. This trend, which is already driving much higher traffic volumes per mobile user, will continue to grow yet, in the coming years. At the present time, mobile broadband subscriptions are being activated at the rate of 20 new customers per second. It is expected that mobile subscriptions will touch the 4 billion mark by the end of next year.
The following are certain other predictions made by the company:
- Mainland China will have 350 million LTE subscribers by the end of this year. This constitutes almost 35 percent of global LTE users. This region overtakes the United States to emerge as the world’s largest LTE consumer. It is predicted that the number of LTE users will increase to a whopping 1.2 billion by 2021.
- While the global demand for mobile data will increase by 10 times by 2021, the major demand will be for mobile video data. Already, YouTube is far in the lead, registering 70 percent of all video traffic, with Netflix coming in second.
- Africa will become more connected than ever before, with an estimated 1 billion users by the end of this year. This region will eventually open its doors for increased connectivity, by introducing more mobile payment and banking services.
Highlights from Middle East and North East Africa
Mobile Subscriptions:
- The region as a whole had around 680 million mobile subscriptions at the end of 2014, and it will increase to 970 million by 2020.
- LTE subscriptions are on the rise and are expected to triple in 2015 alone, and surpass 210 million by 2020, equating to around 20 percent of all mobile subscriptions.
Mobile Data Traffic
By 2020, mobile data traffic in the region will grow 14 times between 2014, while globally data will grow 9 times.
· By 2020, the amount of data used monthly by each active smartphone will increase substantially from an average of 0.8GB in 2014 to approximately 5GB.
In Conclusion
As mentioned earlier, it will take a while before 5G mobile fully evolves. However, the fact is clear that the next-generation network is well on its way and will make its grand foray into the mobile market.
At the moment, however, there is no clear leader or pioneer in this area. Not many companies are willing to randomly jump in to introduce this new network all too soon. Most of them prefer to wait and watch to see what the future of mobile has in store for us.
Source: GreanArea, About.com
