5G: From Dream to Reality

Finally, we are expected to see a big technology shift this year. The transition to fifth generation cellular network will soon shake the smartphone and rest of the devices that include industrial robots, security cameras, drones and cars that send traffic data to one another. 5G will facilitate people to download the entire movie within seconds. We are going to experience a big change in connectivity, entertainment, and lifestyle.

The transition to the fifth generation cellular network will soon shake the smartphone and other smart devices

The next generation 5G technology will be a significant tool to connect billions of internet users and devices. Unlike 2G, 3G, and 4G that focused on mobile phones, the 5G will offer faster, more stable connections for cars, homes, factories, and offices. According to a survey, in countries where 4G has been introduced for the last few years, the businesses have gained a 67% increase in productivity, 47% have been able to cut costs and 75% accept that 4G has enabled them to innovate and jump ahead in the competition.

5G: From Dream to Reality

In Pakistan, the 4G LTE has improved network responsiveness for real-time communication and reliability of a fast connection. Pakistan is also getting ready to welcome this big technology shift. PTA has already unveiled its roadmap about public testing of 5G services in Pakistan. The draft framework for 5G enables the use of the radio spectrum on a trial basis for non-commercial purposes.

Unlike 2G, 3G, and 4G that focused on mobile phones, the 5G will offer faster, more stable connections for cars, homes, factories, and offices

Pakistan has experienced 3G and 4G mobile broadband technology shift quite successfully. In Pakistan, the rapidly increasing demand for high bandwidth telecom services has gained pace towards 5G testing. PTA has also confirmed that it would be launching 5G services in Pakistan very soon.

Malaysian Tower Company edotco has offered annual investment of $100 million in Pakistan in a bid to lay a firm foundation for the launch of 5G telecom technology in the country

In next five years, the smartphone penetration is expected to grow from current 30% to over 60% so, in order to handle the projected fivefold spike in mobile data usage, the country’s telecommunication industry will need over 30,000 new tower sites by 2022. Therefore, Malaysian Tower Company edotco has also offered annual investment of $100 million in Pakistan in a bid to lay a firm foundation for the launch of 5G telecom technology in the country.

Pakistan has begun the preparations of 5G and has set its eyes on launching 5G technology by 2020

The telecom officials have highlighted that the existing 3G/4G mobile broadband technologies have been gaining momentum continuously since their launch in mid-2014 and the demand for data services has been growing along with the broadband subscriber base that has now crossed 56 million. In the current fiscal year, 4G had a significant impact on mobile phone banking transactions as well. According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), these transactions had crossed the PKR 410 billion mark, translating to a growth of 195%. There are almost 3.4 million registered users of mobile phone banking apps, with the bulk of the transactions falling under intra- and inter-bank funds transfer. With the launch of 5G Services, we can see more improvement in banking transactions via mobile phones.

Zong and Telenor might be the first telecom operators to introduce 5G as they have already started testing the advanced technology

However, at the same time, telecom officials admit that the quality of 3G and 4G are very low in Pakistan. According to the wireless network mapping company known as OpenSignal, Pakistan’s average 3G speed is among the lowest in the world at just 3.33Mbps. Though, 4G services are comparatively much better than 3G services. It is expected that 5G speed will be one thousand times faster than current LTE data transfer speeds. In this regard, even China has tested a prototype with data transfer speeds of 3.5Gbps. 5G services will be operating on a millimeter wave base.

The draft framework for 5G enables the use of radio spectrum on a trial basis for non-commercial purposes

Over the past five years, Pakistan has experienced a rapid increase in mobile broadband penetration, but still, the mobile broadband market is at an early stage of development with penetration that is below other Asian countries. However, it is to be expected that by further adoption of 4G and eventually 5G services, strong growth will occur over the next five years.

PTA has also claimed that Pakistan will emerge as the first nation in South Asia to introduce 5G internet services and even beat the larger regional nations like India. Pakistan has begun the preparations of 5G and has set its eyes on launching 5G technology by 2020. With the arrival of 5G services, the market for high-end smartphones will also grow. Moreover, mobile companies such as iPhone which are not directly doing business in Pakistan may open up their stores here.

5G is going to bring the next big revolution globally in the area of mobile broadband. We expect that it will result in attractive data rates and considerably enhance the experience. The young generation will definitely enjoy the applications of next-generation technology, as they will be able to download their favorite games within no time. Telecom operators realize the fact that 5G technology will be a key factor to allow millions of devices to be connected simultaneously in highly populated areas. That’s why they are working hard for the successful implementation of 5G services in Pakistan.

Zong and Telenor might be the first telecom operators to introduce 5G as they have already started testing the advanced technology.

 5G will become the underlying fabric of an entire ecosystem of fully connected intelligent sensors and devices, capable of overhauling economic and business policies, further blurring geographical and cultural borders

Telenor Group has announced that it will soon finalize its 5G vendor whereas, in Pakistan Telenor has already marked the first deployment of the AirScale Base Station Controller (BSC) and AirScale Radio Network Controller (RNC) on AirFrame cloud infrastructure in Pakistan, and the first cloud-based BSC deployment in the Middle East and Africa region.

While Zong has also launched LTE FDD MIMO sites with 32T32R technology used on the existing spectrum to improve the user-perceived rate from 3.8 Mbit/s to 13.6 Mbit/s. The government should also take supportive steps to facilitate the industry as the commercial operation of 5G technology will bring a boom to the IT sector.

Unlike its predecessors, 5G will bring a major technological paradigm shift. It will not be just a network upgrade rather 5G will become the underlying fabric of an entire ecosystem of fully connected intelligent sensors and devices, capable of overhauling economic and business policies, and further blurring geographical and cultural borders. It will affect all the industries particularly automotive, health care and the Internet of Things. With the arrival of 5G, we will experience dramatic transformations in our daily lives.