5G Routers and Wi-Fi 6: Where the Market Is Headed
As we have shared in our thought leadership articles, such as the 2G and 3G network shutdown blog post, 4G LTE has a long lifecycle and will remain in place over the next decade as commercial and industrial operations migrate their operations to 5G. In fact, 4G is still growing rapidly in adoption, even as 5G network infrastructure builds out, and commercial operations seek the best 5G business router to meet their needs.
There are many reasons for this. For example, it takes time and resources to migrate older infrastructure when new products and technology are introduced. And while 5G networks are rapidly rolling out across the globe, it will take time for the buildout to reach remote and rural areas. 4G LTE shares the same spectrum as 5G, enabling 4G to provide seamless failover backup for 5G, as well as a continued option for enterprises that do not need the speed and performance of 5G today.
That said, the landscape is changing. Demand for higher speeds, reliable connectivity and faster throughput is increasing. Wi-Fi 6 is the next generation of Wi-Fi, offering speeds in the 9.6 Gbps range, up from 3.5 Gbps with Wi-Fi 5. It’s the perfect marriage for 5G devices devoted to commercial and business applications, and we will see applications across IoT, retail, streaming services and more.
The 5G Adoption Rate Portends Growth
“The biggest opportunity for 5G is in enterprise. Companies have only just started to scratch the surface in terms of investing in enterprise use cases. Factory floor automation will be one of the big use cases. Another is fixed wireless, which could boost connectivity through private 5G networks deployed across organizations, regions or campuses,” said Samik Chatterjee, Telecom & Network Equipment/IT Hardware Senior Analyst at J.P. Morgan.
Who Will Adopt 5G in the Commercial and Enterprise Space?
The exciting performance of 5G is enticing to many who want to deploy applications that use technologies such as streaming video, artificial intelligence and machine learning. These features and technologies support advanced applications that require speed, low latency, higher bandwidth, or some combination of all three.
5G in Enterprises and Branch Offices
Main office and branch office enterprises, which include a range of banking and financial institutions and retail chain stores, today are replacing wired circuits which are very costly to install and maintain. They can also quickly be brought to their knees due to outages.
As these enterprises expand or upgrade their systems, most are turning to wireless solutions with cellular either for their primary or backup connectivity.
5G Retail, Hospitality and Travel Applications
In the retail and hospitality sectors, applications and guests are often “bandwidth hungry,” and 5G will provide an excellent answer. Video streaming, again, is a key use case. For example, this will come to play in applications like augmented reality to support decision making. Does the green outfit or the purple outfit look better? Which hair cut best suits a customer’s facial shape and personal style?
Another use case is personalized digital signage – delivering targeted images and messages throughout a shopping mall or retail space, based on a particular consumer’s profile. Retailers will also have the opportunity to develop smart inventory management systems. One such capability, for example, would be integrating pricing changes due to sales or supply availability with promotional content on digital signage – with 5G performance driving that automation.
5G will also support venues where retail and entertainment are combined. Large malls, for example, often include activity and entertainment venues, and these will increasingly include immersive experiences with virtual reality taking center stage.
And finally, point-of-sale, which is a mission critical need for all transaction-based commercial enterprises, from stores and restaurants to hotel chains.
Managed Home Office with Corporate Network Access
Managed home offices are becoming “the new normal” as a result of many more workers finding work-life balance by working part-time or full time from home. The critical needs in this space are speed, reliability and security. As with the retail and commercial space, the corporate sector needs secure Wi-Fi access to support the remote workforce.
IT teams must scrupulously manage access to the corporate network, ensuring that remote team members have secure VPN, and connect with the same security they would if they were working on-site.
5G in Manufacturing Applications
In the manufacturing industry, the applications supporting Industry 4.0 advancements are set to take off rapidly with the capabilities that 5G routers, AI, ML and video streaming can bring. According to a study performed by the Manufacturing Institute, over half of manufacturers are testing 5G in some capacity, or plan to do so immediately. And 91% believe 5G connectivity will be important to the future of their business.
Consider, for example, how AI-enabled automation using vision cameras and autonomous robots stands to expedite the most repetitive manufacturing processes on assembly lines, while improving accuracy for better ROI. Meanwhile, trained staff can monitor processes and inspect production output without having to directly interact with equipment.
Augmented reality and virtual reality will also play a large role in this space. AR overlays in a manufacturing environment can essentially provide an “inside look” at any part or component within the assembly to support decision making, parts ordering and repairs.
5G in Supply Chain Use Cases
From asset management through the production pipeline to asset tracking of assembled and packaged products in the shipping workflow, there are many aspects of the supply chain that will benefit from the ability to route more data faster. Identifying the location and status of any one item along this “chain” is imperative in order to optimize operations.
“Supply chains that need incoming parts to be highly synchronized will be made more efficient with 5G-powered track and trace technologies,” states a Telit article on the emerging 5G use cases in manufacturing and industry.
Another use case supporting this industry will be driverless trucks and delivery vehicles, which will use vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-intersection (or “V2X”) communications to ensure accurate stopping time and decision making. These communications require the ultra-low-latency of 5G connectivity for rapid decision-making in fractions of seconds.
5G in Building Security
With 5G cellular routers and Wi-Fi 6 functionality, security will take a major leap forward. The greater bandwidth of 5G will support high-definition (HD, 4K, 8K) security cameras requiring more uplink bandwidth. 5G is much faster than 4G and offers better uplink performance, allowing higher definition video for improved image recognition – as well as aggregation of multiple video streams over a single 5G router.
Facial recognition will increasingly come into play as organizations seeking to ensure only authorized personnel are allowed entry to premises, and turn to the capabilities of 5G to recognize staff and prevent access from unauthorized visitors.