Start thinking about 5G wireless# Stock
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http://money.cnn.com/2012/03/08/technology/5G-wireless/index.ht
5G technology is going to bring a wireless Internet of 'things,' rather than
just phones and tablets.
BARCELONA, Spain (CNNMoney) -- Just as consumers are wrapping their heads
around 4G, the wireless industry is thinking ahead to 5G.
Soaring smartphone and tablet sales mean networks are growing clogged with
cellular data traffic. For the time being, 4G technology can help relieve
the congestion. Modern networks are able to cram more data into their
airwaves than older technologies can.
PrintComment
But soon, even 4G's efficiencies won't be enough.
By 2020, industry analysts say the amount of cellular traffic created by
smartphones and tablets will be dwarfed by the data generated from the world
of connected "things." Shoes, watches, appliances, cars, thermostats and
door locks will all be on the network.
That's a big problem for wireless carriers, which are hitting a point of
diminishing returns on their network efficiency improvements. They're
butting up against the limits of physics as they try to add capacity.
Any further improvements will be incremental, at best.
Take LTE-Advanced. It's the next big post-4G upgrade in the pipeline, and it
's theoretically capable of speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second, about 10
times that of current 4G networks. In real-world situations, though, LTE-A
will only deliver speeds of up to 15 megabits per second -- just slightly
faster than the 12 megabits per second that 4G networks currently offer.
So what can 5G offer that 4G can't?
"5G won't be about more speed, necessarily," says Tod Sizer, head of
wireless research at Alcatel-Lucent's (ALU) Bell Labs. "It may be faster,
but it will be more about meeting the expectation of service quality."
0:00 / 2:36 A cell tower that fits in your palm
Each generation of network technology has enabled a new set of features: 2G
was about voice, 3G was about data and 4G is about video. 5G, Sizer predicts
, will be about intelligent networks that can handle billions of connected
devices while remaining stable and operational.
That will be tricky if the future proves as connected as industry leaders
forecast.
At last week's Mobile World Congress, the wireless industry's largest annual
gathering, Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) Chairman Eric Schmidt painted a
picture of a not-too-distant future in which robots will travel to meetings
for us and send back high-definition video over the network. AT&T (T,
Fortune 500), Qualcomm (QCOM, Fortune 500), Sony (SNE) and Intel
demonstrated a "connected home" where even our clothing transmits wireless
signal.
It will be up to 5G network technology to know how to prioritize all the
things trying to communicate. The network will have to know that it can wait
until its congestion dies down to send your command to your thermostat to
raise the temperature by 10 degrees when you get home -- but your phone call
needs to go through immediately.
So when will 5G be ready? Officially, it doesn't even exist. The standards-
setting International Telecommuication Union has not yet created a
definition for 5G.
The current bleeding-edge technology, 4G, is still in its infancy. Existing
networks haven't come close to reaching the theoretical maximum speeds that
the technology offers, and their deployment is limited. The nation's most
extensive 4G network, run by Verizon, now covers 200 million people, but
they're not rushing to upgrade. Verizon has sold less than 6 million 4G-
capable devices.
Sprint (S, Fortune 500) and AT&T spokesmen said they had nothing to share
about intelligent network technology or anything branded as 5G.
Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500) spokesman Tom Pica said, "The future is here, and
it's Verizon Wireless 4G-LTE." He added: "Personally, I'm hoping you'll put
the heat on Detroit for the flying cars."
But with the rapid pace of change in the wireless industry, current 4G
technology alone will be inadequate in just five years, says Bell Labs'
Sizer.
"The trend of telephony is now headed towards machines that connect to the
network," he says. "Networks will have to understand each application and
know what quality means."
5G technology is going to bring a wireless Internet of 'things,' rather than
just phones and tablets.
BARCELONA, Spain (CNNMoney) -- Just as consumers are wrapping their heads
around 4G, the wireless industry is thinking ahead to 5G.
Soaring smartphone and tablet sales mean networks are growing clogged with
cellular data traffic. For the time being, 4G technology can help relieve
the congestion. Modern networks are able to cram more data into their
airwaves than older technologies can.
PrintComment
But soon, even 4G's efficiencies won't be enough.
By 2020, industry analysts say the amount of cellular traffic created by
smartphones and tablets will be dwarfed by the data generated from the world
of connected "things." Shoes, watches, appliances, cars, thermostats and
door locks will all be on the network.
That's a big problem for wireless carriers, which are hitting a point of
diminishing returns on their network efficiency improvements. They're
butting up against the limits of physics as they try to add capacity.
Any further improvements will be incremental, at best.
Take LTE-Advanced. It's the next big post-4G upgrade in the pipeline, and it
's theoretically capable of speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second, about 10
times that of current 4G networks. In real-world situations, though, LTE-A
will only deliver speeds of up to 15 megabits per second -- just slightly
faster than the 12 megabits per second that 4G networks currently offer.
So what can 5G offer that 4G can't?
"5G won't be about more speed, necessarily," says Tod Sizer, head of
wireless research at Alcatel-Lucent's (ALU) Bell Labs. "It may be faster,
but it will be more about meeting the expectation of service quality."
0:00 / 2:36 A cell tower that fits in your palm
Each generation of network technology has enabled a new set of features: 2G
was about voice, 3G was about data and 4G is about video. 5G, Sizer predicts
, will be about intelligent networks that can handle billions of connected
devices while remaining stable and operational.
That will be tricky if the future proves as connected as industry leaders
forecast.
At last week's Mobile World Congress, the wireless industry's largest annual
gathering, Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) Chairman Eric Schmidt painted a
picture of a not-too-distant future in which robots will travel to meetings
for us and send back high-definition video over the network. AT&T (T,
Fortune 500), Qualcomm (QCOM, Fortune 500), Sony (SNE) and Intel
demonstrated a "connected home" where even our clothing transmits wireless
signal.
It will be up to 5G network technology to know how to prioritize all the
things trying to communicate. The network will have to know that it can wait
until its congestion dies down to send your command to your thermostat to
raise the temperature by 10 degrees when you get home -- but your phone call
needs to go through immediately.
So when will 5G be ready? Officially, it doesn't even exist. The standards-
setting International Telecommuication Union has not yet created a
definition for 5G.
The current bleeding-edge technology, 4G, is still in its infancy. Existing
networks haven't come close to reaching the theoretical maximum speeds that
the technology offers, and their deployment is limited. The nation's most
extensive 4G network, run by Verizon, now covers 200 million people, but
they're not rushing to upgrade. Verizon has sold less than 6 million 4G-
capable devices.
Sprint (S, Fortune 500) and AT&T spokesmen said they had nothing to share
about intelligent network technology or anything branded as 5G.
Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500) spokesman Tom Pica said, "The future is here, and
it's Verizon Wireless 4G-LTE." He added: "Personally, I'm hoping you'll put
the heat on Detroit for the flying cars."
But with the rapid pace of change in the wireless industry, current 4G
technology alone will be inadequate in just five years, says Bell Labs'
Sizer.
"The trend of telephony is now headed towards machines that connect to the
network," he says. "Networks will have to understand each application and
know what quality means."
