Technology

Posted on July 9, 2018 by staff

5G technology will ‘take over the world’

Technology

Following the news that 5G could be coming to the UK later this year Chris Costello, director of tech store Sync, shares his thoughts on the benefits the tech could bring.

The Sync technology hub, which opened in Manchester this March, is the home of all things Apple in the heart of the city centre on Deansgate.

Vodafone recently announced that Liverpool and Manchester could be two of the first UK cities to get next-generation connectivity.

The impact it will have on businesses will be enormous, says Costello, as they benefit from the improvements the technology will bring.

“Healthcare workers will be able to monitor and react instantly to the progress of their patients with wearable technology,” he said.

“It will also be the end of 9-to-5 working hours as workers can seamlessly work from home and respond as instantly as if they are physically in an office all together.

“It’s clear 5G will take over the world and turn it into an ‘always connected’ and ‘instantly reachable’ environment.”

5G will have some similarities to 4G, says Costello, however it will offer more reliable mobile connection speeds than ever before.

“It will also be able to handle thousands of connections without a compromise on connection quality,” he said.

5G technology is rumoured to be arriving in some countries later this year. However, the UK might not be getting 5G until 2020 according to a recent report released by the government.

“5G promises an average download speed of 10GB per second,” said Costello.

“That’s around 1000 times faster than what 4G currently delivers. To put this into perspective further, you could download an entire HD film in less than a second.”

It will also have a response time of just 1 millisecond. In comparison 4G has a response time of between 15 and 60 milliseconds and 3G around 120 milliseconds.

“As well as dramatically improving our smartphone connections, 5G will transform every individual communication within our lives,” he says.

“No longer will we just be able to connect to other people around the world. Every object and thing will be connected too.

“This includes everything from being alerted about potential collisions whilst driving your car, to your coffee machine being linked to your alarm clock so that it has a drink ready as soon as you wake up.”

Costello traces the origins of wireless telephone tech back to 1G in the 1980s, which used analogue radio signals to transmit voice calls. 2G then arrived in the 1990s, and used digital signals which enabled phones to send text and picture messages.

In the early 2000s 3G arrived, allowing users to video call others and use the internet from their phones.

“Then came 4G in 2010 which allowed for faster mobiles speeds that made browsing the internet and streaming video a breeze,” he said.