5G is a new mobile network infrastructure that could completely change how mobile networks operate. What sets 5G apart from previous mobile network models is better connectivity and faster data sharing. Developers state that with 5G networks in place, connectivity speeds could get up to 10 gigabits per second. This is much faster than current mobile networks. With seamless connectivity, the high-speed data transfer provided by 5G has the potential to change human interaction.
How is 5G Different from 4G?
- Decreased Delays
Besides increased speed, 5G is expected to dramatically decrease delays. With current 4G networks, you can expect a delay of up to 50 milliseconds, but with 5G networks, this inconvenience would be reduced to a mere millisecond. This means that communication with your device will be virtually instant – so fast that you won’t even notice a delay when scrolling, messaging, or interacting over video.
- Improved Connection Density
Another advantage 5G has over 4G is in connection density. Connection density is a network’s ability to successfully deliver messages of a certain size during a certain time, even in a crowded area like a baseball stadium.
As of today, 4G can support approximately two thousand connected devices every .38 square miles. This limitation is a problem because the number of connected devices will only increase in the future (population increase, increase in mobile users). Eventually, there will be too many devices for the network to handle. A 5G network can easily handle this problem, as it can support up to one million connected devices within an area of the same size.
How will 5g Affect Mobile App Developers?
5G will allow forward-looking mobile app developers to increase the capabilities of the apps, move them to the cloud, and leverage IoT at scale. Here are the opportunities that 5G opens:
1) Ability to integrate new technologies
5G will make mobile apps more efficient with current technologies (messaging, video chat, etc.) as well as allow mobile developers to start integrating more advanced tech into devices, such as virtual and augmented reality, AI and blockchain systems. Thanks to the improved speed and reduced delay made by 5G networks, mobile app developers will be able to provide users with a more immersive experience. For example, video and streaming apps will buffer almost immediately, since the 5G networks will be able to handle exceptionally more data than 4G.
2) Increase in Cloud-Based Apps
5G is also likely to prompt an increase in cloud-based apps. Apps that use the cloud for data storage are becoming more necessary, as the functions our smartphones need to perform become more complex. By using the cloud to store data instead of within the app, users can run apps without having to install them directly to their devices. This is a major change since a device’s hardware will no longer affect how an app functions.
3) Reliance on mMTC
Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) is a type of narrowband access for many devices that sense, measure, and monitor. With it, these devices use small amounts of power. 5G is likely to incorporate mMTC as they are extremely energy efficient. For app developers, this means the ability to create new apps with tracking and monitoring abilities far beyond the current technology.
Security Issues
Every new technology raises concerns about security. 5G is no exception. Although it has huge potential, the technology is much more complex to secure.
There are a few tried and true ways to protect your mobile device from threats. As apps have become a key part of our everyday life, hackers have found new ways to get around protective measures. 5G will change this threat landscape in several ways.
One reason why 5G has a higher security risk is because there are more ways for people to exploit it. The new network will allow more devices to be connected than ever before. This system of shared data between devices connected to the web is known as the internet of things (IoT).
IoT devices are susceptible to cyber-attack by threat actors, as they could be taken over and used to form a botnet to perform malicious attacks, such as DDoS, to cripple networks. 5G’s connectivity increases this risk, since it can be connected to larger and larger networks. Thus, it also puts more networks at risk. In addition, 5G is based on virtual networks which also need regulation.
Conclusion
Developments in mobile technology are more important now than ever before. In fact, more searches are made on mobile devices than on desktops. The shift from desktop to mobile as the main source of internet connectivity has stimulated mobile development and created new technologies to deliver more data faster.
5G is the next-generation network for mobile devices. When compared to 4G, it allows massive data transfers with extremely reduced delays. Although there are new security risks associated with it, 5G has the potential to change mobile communication, providing the user with a more immersive mobile experience.
