Maintel’s Guide to the rapidly developing world of the next generation of mobility.
What is 5G?
Like with the rollout of 3G and 4G, there’s been a lot of hype and build up to the arrival of faster speeds – it’s become a bit of a buzzword to say the least. But 5G is finally a reality, with the service now being switched on across large parts of the United Kingdom. 5G is the next generation of mobile internet connectivity promising faster speeds, wider coverage and more stable connections.
With 5G, you’ll see exponentially faster download and upload speeds. Expect device speeds at least 10 times faster than 4G. Latency, or response times will also drastically decrease. 5G was launched in the UK in May 2019 by EE in six cities, with Vodafone and O2 following close behind. Similarly to 4G, 5G will have multiple enhancements throughout the lifecycle of this technology.
The first to arrive is the 5G Stand Alone Network and these have now arrived in the UK.
What is 5G Stand Alone?
5G stand alone networks utilises a completely new infrastructure to deliver 5G. The initial 5G network roll out focused on using 5G spectrum to provide a 5G signal between the masts and the device and achieved this through focusing on upgrading the masts, however, the back bone of the network still ran on the same technology that delivered 4G. 5G Stand Alone offers to bring further speed and coverage enhancements as well as improvements to battery life.
Vodafone launched its 5G Stand Alone network in June 2023 in, with O2 next to launch with 14 cities and EE the most recent with a launch in 15 major cities.
So, what’s with the hype on 5G and 5G Stand Alone?
Well – for the consumer, 5G is going to offer greater speeds, the opportunity for more real-time engagement and a great mobile video experience. Less buffering will make video conferences more commonplace. In fact, things like healthcare and patient diagnosis will become much more possible via video.
Essentially, the applications that it will benefit are the ones which need less latency and thus have less lag time. Think about driverless cars and robotics – it’s not just about our mobile phones and Netflix. The business impact of this technology will be huge.
Features and Benefits
Compared to the current generation of 4G mobile networks, 5G mobile networks promise several benefits:
Faster Speeds
The headline benefit of 5G is speed. 5G is set to be much faster than previous generation networks – perhaps up to 100 times faster than existing 4G networks. For business processes, this should translate into faster applications, improved performance and quicker response times.
Wider Coverage
5G networks will be secure, will cope better with heavier data loads, and will also adapt to reserve the highest speeds for those devices needing it. 5G Stand Alone will also bring enhancements to coverage
Stable Connections
5G’s proposition is one of extreme reliability meaning fewer dropped calls or connections and enabling critical use cases such as connected cars and remote surgery. Though it’s not always noticeable, there is often a brief lag from when data is sent to when it’s received. 5G is designed to significantly reduce latency meaning less delay or lag. For businesses, this will translate to consistently higher quality for voice and video communications.
This is also important for remote control of critical infrastructure and machinery, like medical devices where even the slightest delay can be problematic in critical situations.
5G Considerations
It is not just about speed and new devices. Higher speeds and lower latency will also be used to connect virtually everything around us and make new experiences possible with augmented and virtual reality, connected cars and the smart home. So, what are the key considerations for 5G adoption?
Speed
Consider what you and your users actually use mobile data for. Faster speeds are more useful when dealing with heavy, content rich media. Do you or your users need to do a lot of video streaming or download large files on the move?
Devices
You will need a 5G enabled phone with most now offering 5G as standard. To get access to 5G stand alone you’ll have to have a compatible device – many Samsung devices already have compatibility whilst iPhones from the 16 onwards will support this
Battery Life
Compared to the initial 5G devices, battery life has improved considerably. Using 5G Stand Alone also uses less battery, so where battery life in concerned picking a device that can use this is a real benefit.
Coverage
You need to know where 5G is available to be able to really take advantage of what it has to offer. Where will you be using 5G? Is 5G coverage available there currently and what will coverage be like indoors? If you are not in the busiest areas of the top UK cities, then you are going to have to wait for 5G.
Tariffs
5G is now the standard network offering from all the major networks, and unlimited plans are very common. Some networks have begun to offer speed restrictions to and limit the speeds on the lower tariffs with access to 5G Stand Alone only afforded on the top tariffs.
5G Checklist
Coverage
Is there 5G coverage in the areas of the country where you do business?
Device
Are your devices 5G-ready? And if you want to access 5G Stand Alone, does your device support it?
Tariff
How does the cost compare to your current tariff?
Do I Need 5G?
For most businesses, 4G technology already offered adequate download speeds required for most typical smartphone uses – including web browsing, video calling and media streaming. However, 5G is the future and most devices and tariffs work with 5G as standard nowadays. With the 3G Switch off well underway and the networks keen to re deploy spectrum into 5G services now is a fantastic time to consider refreshing your estate and making the most of 5G.
Why Maintel?
Maintel, as an independent supplier of mobile solutions, can provide connectivity for all major UK networks. We work with you to remove the complexity created by a mobile workforce. We do this by helping organisations define, deploy and support the right mobility and flexible working strategy.
We will help mobilise your people, their workplace and their workflow enabling them to work as productively and securely on the move as they can in the office.