Ericsson and TeliaSonera together launched the first commercial 4G mobile network in 2009. They are now back to repeat their achievement with the new 5G technology.
Preliminary testing has indicated that 5G should be easily capable of providing 1Gbps speeds. Some trials have managed to see 800 Gbps though, a staggering transfer rate that would let people download an entire media library of films, photos and videos in just a few seconds. In comparison, current-generation 4G has a theoretical maximum of 100Mbps.
5G has another key advantage over its predecessor. It is designed to be a much more expansive network, capable of accommodating the 100 billion Internet of Things devices expected to be connected to the mobile Internet by 2020. 5G will be much better at distributing bandwidth between all these devices than 3G and 4G are, keeping speeds high even when there is a lot of traffic on the network.
Hans Vestberg, President and CEO, Ericsson, said: “More and more industries tap into the value of digitalization and connectivity. 5G will amplify that as it is designed to be the industrial internet. It will not only be built for consumers, but also for digitalization of industries and the Internet of Things. Together with TeliaSonera we launched the first commercial 4G network in 2009, we will be in the forefront of 5G as well.”
Availability of the technology doesn’t necessarily mean it will be easy for people to use though. There are likely to be some 5G-supporting smartphones on the market by 2018 but, as with the rollout of 4G, the initial selection is likely to be slim and primarily premium-oriented. This may prevent customers from accessing 5G for many years to come.
Stockholm, one of the most tech-focused cities in the world, is therefore a good place to launch 5G. Tallinn in Estonia is also a European technology hub, ensuring the new mobile network should be able to attract customers with relative ease.
“Our ambition is to be at the cutting edge – at all times – offering our customers and society at large all the possibilities that technology brings.”, said TeliSonera President and CEO Johan Dennelind. “Stockholm and Tallinn are two of the most connected cities in the world and now we’ll take them to the next level. 5G will create completely new innovations, ecosystems and great services to our customers. 5G will also take connected things (IoT) to a new level. I can’t wait to see how Stockholm and Tallinn will embrace 5G.”
5G will be the next major development in mobile Internet, letting people do even more on the go without having to wait for sluggish download speeds. Pricing and availability remains unclear but is likely to start higher than 4G before settling down to be around equal. Providers will need to recover the cost of investing in the technology before bringing prices down.
Ericsson expects to see 150 million people using 5G by the end of 2021. The company provides the infrastructure behind networks worldwide, accounting for over 40 percent of the world’s total mobile Internet.
