As technology continues to advance, it is important for all of us to stay up to date with the latest mechanisms that are being implemented. The one that we will be discussing today is 5G networks and what this means for our devices. Many of us have heard of it, but don’t really know what it means. Here is a quick breakdown of 5G and what it means for the future.

Defining 5G

Many of us have heard of the different “Gs,”—from 1G to the current 5G. The “G” simply stands for generation and is used to identify, in this instance, the latest generation in wireless technology.

According to the article “What is 5G,” each generation has been defined in two ways:

  • The speed in which they transmit data;
  • And encoding methods to make them compatible with previous generations.

The difference between each generation

To help understand how far we have come and where we going, it is important to know how each generation has performed and evolved into the next. As described in the article by PCMAG, “1G was analog cellular, 2G [was] the first generation of digital cellar technologies, 3G technologies…brought speeds from 200kps to a few megabits per second, 4G technologies…are now scaling up hundreds of megabits and gigabit-level speeds.”

With the introduction of 5G, there are now three key aspects that make it an even bigger leap forward. Not only does it allow for greater speed, and an increase in how much data can be transferred, but it offers more responsiveness (lower latency) and an increase in how many devices can be connected at the same time.

What this means now and for the future

The infrastructure for 5G networks is still in process of being built with it becoming the global norm by 2020. With the application of this new network, we can expect a world where larger amounts of data can be moved at faster speeds with greater responsiveness enabling a more connected world.

Predictions for 6G networks are already being postulated. Some estimate that 6G will incorporate greater communication between different machines. According to the article “Beyond 5G: The Roadmap to 6G and beyond,” these new demands for machine-to-machine communication will result in the development of “robotic and autonomous drone delivery and transport systems.”

Furthermore, one of the difficulties that each generation upgrade faces is upgrading the older systems to support the next generation. 6G will perhaps develop systems that will allow the transition to the next generation be more seamless and efficient, accelerating the speed at which new networks can be adopted.