bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

quizIds

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

paywallTypes

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Celia Chen

5G was the buzzword at the Mobile World Congress, the biggest annual conference and exhibition for the mobile industry, held this week in Barcelona, Spain. 
Companies plastered the venue halls with prominent slogans, from “5G is now”, “Leading 5G innovation” and “Network towards 5G” to “5G is happening faster than we expected”.
Those catchphrases about the next generation of ultra-fast wireless technology may mean little to most people outside the mobile industry.
Yet 5G is what will enable a lot of the science fiction-like technologies being talked about today, such as autonomous cars and smart cities. 

How fast is fast?
On a 5G network, a connected car travelling at 100 kilometres per hour (62 miles per hour) will have moved just 2.8 centimetres, or little more than inch, from the time it detects an obstacle to when it activates the brakes, according to estimates by Huawei Technologies.
That could be the difference between life and death.
Today’s 4G networks are unsuitable for the quick response times needed in autonomous driving. 
Smartphone users will be able to send ultra-high 4k resolution video within a few seconds. Bandwidth-hungry video games, augmented and virtual reality technologies will be seamless, offering a more immersive experience. 
A 5G network will be able to support the increasing number of connected devices around the world, from fitness-tracking watches to internet-linked television and computer systems that run a city’s traffic lights. 

How soon will 5G be rolled out?
The first commercial 5G networks should start coming online from 2020, according to the International Telecommunications Union.
Many mobile network operators are conducting 5G trials in cities from Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong and Yinchuan in northwestern China to San Francisco in the United States and Frankfurt in Germany.

Will the roads be filled with self-driving cars once 5G is rolled out?
Not quite. 
Autonomous cars and other mobility services require more support infrastructure than your smartphone. 
Self-driving cars require sensors, artificial intelligence and roadside base stations for connectivity to allow vehicles to “talk” to each other and avoid collisions or hit pedestrians. 
These equipment may need to be deployed at the street level on lamp posts or traffic lights. 

When can I buy 5G smartphones?
One of the first 5G smartphones is expected to be launched in the second half of this year by Huawei, China’s biggest smartphone brand.
The release of a range of 5G smartphones that can also work on existing 4G networks is widely expected later next year, after the standards are set and spectrum is allocated.
About 1 billion people globally are likely to use 5G mobile services within five years, leading to US$12.3 trillion in worldwide economic output by the mid-2030s, according to estimates from Ericsson and IHS Markit. 


MWC 2019 winners? Chinese phone brands. Here’s what they revealed

US-China trade tensions fuel misconceptions about role of Chinese tech firms, says Alibaba Cloud executive

Inside China Tech: Mobile World Congress 2019 and what next for foldable phones

Why Huawei should lie low and plan a US listing instead of going on the offensive

MWC Barcelona 2019

Here’s how 5G is going to change your life

Consumers can expect the hype over 5G to increase over the next two years as authorities complete the technical standard and spectrum allocation for the advanced mobile system

Visitors use the new Samsung Galaxy S9+ mobile phone during the Mobile World Congress wireless show, in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2018. The annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) runs from 26 February - 1 March and draws over 2,300 exhibitors to Barcelona, including industry heavyweights Samsung, Huawei and Nokia. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

A person uses a smartphone at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the world's biggest mobile fair, on February 26, 2018 in Barcelona. The Mobile World Congress is held in Barcelona from February 26 to March 1. / AFP PHOTO / LLUIS GENE

***PLEASE CLEAR THE COPYRIGHTS BEFORE REUSE*** 30 Oct. 2017 — SmarTone Telecommunications has teamed up with Sweden’s Ericsson to install large-scale antenna systems called Massive Mimo (right) at Causeway Bay and other densely populated districts in Hong Kong. The roll-out marks the first major trial of 5G-ready infrastructure in the city by a mobile network operator.

Interest in 5G has increased as preparations by telecommunications operators to roll out the next-generation mobile system heat up, following the recent completion of 5G phase one technical specification. Photo: Bloomberg

Why China is set to spend US$411 billion on 5G mobile networks

Mainland Chinese 5G investments will span 2020 to 2030, benefiting domestic network and smartphone suppliers

5G-related revenue of equipment and handset makers, including heavyweights like Huawei, are forecast to total 17.5 trillion yuan from 2020 to 2030. Photo: AFP

Business

Companies

Tech

China Business

Enterprises

Innovation

Big Tech

Consumers can expect the hype over 5G to increase over the next two years as authorities complete the technical standard and spectrum allocation for the advanced mobile system
