(The arrival of 5G is giving the AV industry real-time connectivity | Photo by Denys Nevozhai on Unsplash)
The arrival of 5G is transforming technology and our AV industry. You can barely scan your News Feed or watch television without some type of news or advertisement about 5G and its impending impact on your life. And while this whole 5G thing sounds like amazing hype, I’ve found that many of our customers and my colleagues aren’t certain of what it is and how it actually will affect their lives and our industry.
Let’s start with some definitions and explanations.
What is 5G?
The “G” in the term 5G stands for generation and relates to the speed, connectivity and reliability of our wireless devices.
In the beginning, we had 1G, which essentially allowed us to talk to each other. With the development of 2G, we moved into the realm of sending messages. The next leap was 3G, which gave us broad data and internet connectivity. Now, we have 4G, which made all of the previously mentioned aspects a whole lot faster. But 5G is a game changer and a massive breakthrough for devices not only connected to the internet but also with each other. While 4G is pretty fast, 5G is real-time fast. In fact, it is 150 times faster than 4G.
Which Industries Will Experience the Most Profound Effects of 5G?
You may have noticed that home 5G has already rolled out. Smart homes connected through the Internet of Things is actually common in some of the major international cities. Full roll-out of 5G across the globe is expected to begin in March 2020. And within a few years, the average person will interact with 5G technology in a variety of potential ways.
Medical Industry — Because 5G will allow wireless communication in real time across the world, many medical services will be provided remotely. Robotic surgeries will be performed in one location of the world by a surgeon “operating” from a different location. Patients will be linked to hospitals with monitoring services within the comfort of their own homes.
Manufacturing Industry — Smart factories are already being developed with wireless robots interfacing in perfect synchronicity.
Food Industry — Drones will simply fly over crops to monitor the health of our food. With 5G, they will give individualized attention, nutrition and water to our food sources.
Entertainment Industry — Imagine your virtual reality device connected to other gamers across the world and interacting with them in real time. It’s coming.
Transportation Industry — Driver-less vehicles in major cities will be transporting passengers at speeds up to 200mph and in an accident-free environment.
5G Will Drive AV Technology
AV professionals will have plenty of opportunity to capitalize on the 5G movement as it becomes more and more commonplace. Right now, many businesses are discussing design and infrastructure options in anticipation of 5G networking.
Due to on-the-go connections and networking, employees will be able to collaborate anywhere. Existing AV technology like video conferencing will be real-time fast and it is a given that virtual reality will be a future daily practice as well. The conferencing experience will include intelligent cameras and omnidirectional microphones enabling participants to view the entire conference area.
Digital signage is another opportunity area for AV professionals as well. Facial recognition programs will enable digital signage to be real-time fast and personalized.
What are you doing to prepare for the 5G roll out? Let us know!
tonytheavguy.com • tony@avdesignsnow.com
Thank you to the following sources of 5G intel:
digitaltrends.com/mobile/what-is-5g
hardingloevner.com/fundamental-thinking/why-5g-will-transform-much-more-than-telecommunications
conferencetech.com/how-5g-will-spur-av-technology-this-year
linkedin.com/pulse/effects-5g-av-industry-tony-sprando
