A Closer Look at the Five Waves of 5G

5G Wave 5+: 5G Future Use Cases

Wave 5+ centers around future use cases for 5G, and this wave isn’t expected until late 2021 or early 2022. The first four waves of 5G are really evolutions of existing cellular use cases, with important enhancements to fixed wireless access, high-speed, high-bandwidth mobile broadband, and LPWA mMTC applications. The 5+ wave represents a bigger leap forward, thanks to the capabilities enabled by 5G’s use of mmWave spectrum and other advancements that are part of the 5G New Radio (NR) standard.

5G NR will use mmWave, which is a different part of the wireless spectrum (between 20 GHz and 300 GHz) than existing cellular wireless networks. This different spectrum – along with 5G NR’s other technological advancements, such as a new core network – will deliver new groundbreaking capabilities that were impossible for cellular technologies to offer before, including ultra-high reliability, very low latency, and extremely fast handoffs.

With these new capabilities, companies will be able to develop applications for new Ultra-Reliable, Low-Latency Communications (URLLC) use cases. Think here of revolutionary new applications for the Industrial IoT (IIoT) or Industry 4.0, such as factory automation (aka smart factories), self-healing smart grids, and possibly even autonomous vehicles. In addition, 5G’s ability to deliver very low latency, very high reliability and very fast handoffs will likely result in new use cases emerging that haven’t even been conceived of yet.

Catch the 5G Wave

Given the phased rollout of 5G’s new capabilities, there are a variety of ways for enterprises to “catch the 5G wave.” Most importantly, companies should not “panic” and hold off on their current IoT initiatives, waiting for 5G – especially since 5G has been designed to coexist with 4G, extending 4G’s lifespan.

For example, companies can continue their current LPWA initiatives, knowing that they can take advantage of 5G’s enhanced mMTC capabilities when they become available in Wave 4. In addition, now is the perfect time for enterprises to start thinking how they might be able to transform their businesses using the groundbreaking new ultra-high reliability, very low latency, and other URLLC capabilities that will be available in 5G Wave 5+.

In both cases, enterprises should ask themselves: what type of 5G use cases might enable them to reimagine their future? Whatever use cases do make sense for them, Sierra Wireless can provide the 5G knowledge, solutions, and expertise needed to realize their IoT goals. Read our white paper, 5G for IoT? You’re Just in Time, watch our webinar, 5G for IoT: Beyond the Hype, and Start with Sierra to learn more on how your organization can use 5G to thrive in the connected economy.