We’ve all heard the future is connected – but what does this even mean? Allow us to paint a picture.
‘It’s been a long day at the office. The sun has been blaring all day and the heat is getting to your head. You take out your smartphone and call your car to meet you at the office door, A/C on to pre-cool the interiors. You step in as your favorite playlist is on. The car drives itself to your home where you have already turned on the cooling at home. The garage door recognizes your car coming in and opens itself. You take a look at the garden where the sprinklers are already on ensuring your plants prosper despite the heat. The fridge is fully stocked with your favorite drinks and a healthy snack. You get a notification that reminds you to meet your friends, and before you know it your shower has adjusted the water temperature to your liking. Your closet recognizes this as a social gathering and shows you the different fashion choices you’ve available…”
Well, this is all possible with the power of 5G and IoT. But 5G at home is very different from in-building connectivity at your workplace. Why? Because commercial spaces are built differently, using different building materials which impact in-building connectivity. But there are plenty of solutions that allow you to get around this problem, and with more property owners and companies building their own 5G network, the benefits of 5G at workplaces are closer than ever.
So, what is 5G? How will this impact my workspace?
5G or Fifth Generation, is the latest (5th) generation of the mobile network that is designed to connect virtually with all machines, objects, and devices. It promises higher data speeds, ultra-low latency, massive network capacity, and a unified user experience to all its users. This is made possible by leveraging 5G high bands (mmWave) to deliver large quantities of spectrum and capacity over the shortest distances. This means that video calls will soon become AR calls, meeting minutes will be automated and your workplace cafeteria will always have a stock of your favorite snacks and foods.
It also allows you to fit your entire office into your smartphone. In fact, ultra-smart workspaces leveraging 5G connectivity are already present in today’s world, and these have greatly reduced the cost of doing business worldwide. It is estimated that 5G will drive global growth and by 2035, 5G services will enable up to $13.1 trillion worth of goods and services. 5G will also be the driver of smart cities and will also allow for virtual reality streams.
The advent of 5G also means that WiFi may soon be replaced by 5G cellular data. This is because WiFi is limited by space whereas 5G is not. And if you’re in the workforce, then you know that every second you can stay connected and up to date is only going to better your experience and that of your colleagues and clients.
Creating better connectivity with 5G
Although 5G has plenty of indoor use cases, it’ll still face a few challenges when it comes to network connectivity and adoption. This would require a significant change to the existing in-building infrastructure. According to a report by Samsung, 5G-ready DAS will be viable for very large buildings and limited applications whereas small cells will dominate the in-building 5G deployments for small to large size buildings.
An Ericsson whitepaper points out one crucial issue when it comes to 5G. “mmWave spectrum is getting significant attention because of the extremely high bandwidth available to deploy services, leading to multigigabit speeds for users. The challenge with this high band/mmWave spectrum is that the wavelengths are extremely short and thus the radio waves do not propagate through external or even internal walls.”
This is where network architecture and connectivity solutions come in. Distributed Radio Architecture solutions are touted to be the best fit solution. However, this will severely depend on the enterprises and policymakers as the rulebook around 5G is currently undefined.
How to Utilize 5G In-Building
If you’re in an area where 5G already exists or will exist in the near future, then it’s best to upgrade your network connectivity at the earliest. This is where you may need network connectivity solution partners like Kaytech Coverage. At Kaytech, we have a team of professional engineers who can help solve your in-building connectivity requirements while also priming it for the era to come thereby giving you a future-proof solution designed specifically for your building and use cases. You can reach out to us directly on our website www.ktcoverage.com or write to us at sales@ktcoverage.com.
