5G

5G is the 5th generation of mobile internet. And the successor to 4G. One of the biggest improvements is the low latency. With 5G, we will soon be able to download and stream even faster with more devices at the same time. Even in crowded places, such as in stadiums or at festivals. But 5G goes further, 5G is also becoming important in the verticals security, care, agriculture and all other sectors where a fast response time of the network and installations, equipment and sensors is of great importance. Please note: the 5G frequency that enables higher speeds will only be available to Dutch telecom providers in 2022. From then on, the high internet speed of 5G can also play a role in the IoT landscape.

5G can technically be used within existing frequency bands (for example in combination with 4G). Some providers offer 5G over the 1800 MHz frequency on which they offer 4G. From a technical point of view, a 5G device has access to 5G, although the speed is not much higher than 4G. The European Union has designated 700 megahertz, 3.5 gigahertz and 26 gigahertz for the rollout of 5G in Europe. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy opened the auction for the 700 MHz frequency on June 29, 2020. In 2022, the 3.5 gigahertz frequency will be auctioned. This is followed by the 26 GHz frequency. The difference between these frequencies is mainly in the range and the bandwidth. It is therefore wise to take the frequencies into account when developing IoT applications.

There are more and improved security standards in 5G, with more security controls. 5G enables better and faster tools for authentication and encryption of traffic and connected devices. Faster speeds make it possible to share and install new software and security updates much faster than today, enabling intelligent real-time protection. Faster speeds, faster response times and more connected devices also make system monitoring more efficient. 5G also offers the possibility to prioritize traffic in the network (QoS). Network slicing with 5G is designed to be able to handle higher speeds on the one hand and to offer more capacity on the other, but above all to make the delay between sending and receiving data almost imperceptible (low latency). One development that everyone is following with extra attention is network slicing. This technique makes it possible to segment one mobile internet access, as it were, so that you offer different users and applications different bandwidths (QoS) at the same time. In this way you can, for example, guarantee a certain speed or capacity for critical applications, such as emergency services or controlling robots in a hospital.

With 5G we see speeds between 1 Gbps to 10 Gbps, 5G is on average ten times faster than 4G. When it comes to IoT, this will make a huge difference for applications such as CCTV. Lower latency means near real-time communication, which gives a big boost when it comes to real-time control of 'devices' (autonomous vehicles and robotics). 4G latency is actually quite fast at about 30-40 milliseconds. With 5G, that number is reduced to 1-2 milliseconds, again making 5G a big game changer when it comes to IoT.