Telecommunications experts at leading telecommunications providers like Verizon and AT&T told us how 5G will evolve over 2022. Many phones sold in the United States in 2021 already came with 5G modems, and there is a good chance that consumers are already connecting to 5G networks on a regular basis. In 2021, over 170 commercial 5G networks were launched by operators globally. In 2022, 5G will become even more widespread as demand for speed grows.
Technology and Speed
At first, consumers will not experience a big jump in speed in 5G, networking experts say. There are a few factors at play here. First, 4G has been getting upgraded over time and is much faster today than it was when it initially debuted. Second, when a new telecommunications technology stack is deployed, operators want to make sure that it is reliable ahead of providing higher speeds. Instead, lower latency (or network responsiveness) will be more apparent to consumers in 2022, which is more obvious in certain real-time use cases, like online gaming.
5G at Home
Prior generations of mobile wireless telecommunications worked on low-band frequencies that had no trouble penetrating walls. The same way your windows are transparent to light, the rest of the house walls are transparent to 3G and 4G wireless bands. 5G is another matter, however. Gigahertz frequencies do not penetrate walls as easily and do not bounce off walls that well either.
In order to enable 5G inside homes, repeater technologies will be necessary – essentially your home will need its own 5G station, similar to the way we now have Wi-Fi in our homes. Ultimately, in-home 5G stations will be 10-times faster than a 4G connection, be more secure, and will have low enough latency for online gaming. It will also be easier to set up than a home Wi-Fi router.
Connected Cars
Telecommunications experts say that 5G will have a significant impact on our in-car experience as well. Currently, we use our smartphones in our cars for both navigation and entertainment. The next generation of cars that will debut in 2022 will have 5G built-in and offer big-screen TVs for a wide range of entertainment options. Experts say 5G will also enable augmented reality and premium audio systems, as well as AI-driven experiences.
Looking further out beyond 2022, networking experts say that 5G (and beyond) will enable cars to be autonomous or be driven remotely (either partially or fully). This will provide a bridge technology to fully AI-driven autonomous vehicles that still have trouble with edge cases but can handle over 96% of driving situations well. A remote driver will be able to monitor dozens of cars and supervise tricky situations remotely. This will bring about autonomous delivery vehicles and taxis faster than if we were to wait for the AI to handle all situations.
Metaverse, Gaming
Fully immersive gaming that is not tied to the computer screen but can be played anywhere (perhaps using augmented reality glasses) will be enabled by 5G, telecommunications experts say. Low latency, high-data-rate networks will power these experiences in and out of the home, providing seamless connectivity around the world. In addition to gaming and entertainment, the remote workforce will be further enabled by 5G networks, cementing the trends in remote work that started with the 2020 pandemic.
2022 Brings the Next Step in 5G
While 5G has been in the works for many years, and it seems as if it has been constantly a couple of years away, consumers will finally start feeling like 5G is here in 2022, say telecommunications experts. Sidespin Group specializes in networking and telecommunications technologies and can provide market insights, trends analysis, and opinions in intellectual property matters. For help contact Sidespin Group’s networking experts for guidance.