By Eric Kong
Each generation of mobile technology has introduced faster and more reliable cellular and mobile internet connections. 1G introduced us to voice communication, 2G brought efficient calling and messaging services, 3G got us wireless internet, and 4G made multiple media applications and HD video streaming a reality.
For years, there has been a conversation around how the next-gen-5G network will revolutionize the way we use our smartphones and the way we consume and share information. The 5G wave will remodel the smartphone not just to perform but also to learn and think, kickstarting the new era of ‘intelligent’ phones for every user.
Tracing Back the Emergence of 5G
The fifth-generation wireless technology has the potential to bring new apps and features that aren’t possible with today’s 4G. Your phone’s hardware will no more be a significant factor. The applications will run on the massive power of the cloud, enabling a new wave of super apps and faster transfer of data, images, and videos. 5G will enable the phones in your pocket to have a brain of its own automating our day to day functions.
Boarding an aircraft and forgetting to switch to airplane mode or entering a meeting with your phone on volume will no longer be a hassle, the “intelligent” phone will automate the processes by syncing in with your day-to-day life. We will be living life in a profoundly potent virtual world where we could be anywhere anytime.
With lightning-fast speed and low latency of barely a millisecond, 5G will make you download a full-length movie in a matter of seconds. With 4G, we welcomed an age of video calls limited to “good” signal strengths however with 5G in our palms, videos will stream seamlessly, with better upload and download speeds.
With the advent of 5G, unlimited low-cost data plans will become a reality. 5G will be 10 to x100 faster than our current 4G. The user experience will reach new heights.
According to IDC, Shipments of 5G smartphones will surge to more than 100 million units by the end of 2020 as the coverage of 5G networks grows, and the premium prices of today’s handsets come down. IDC sees shipments of 5G-enabled handsets rising sharply to 28% of global phone volumes by the end of 2023.
Investment by communications service providers (CSPs) in 5G network infrastructure is expected to reach 21.3% in 2020
Preparing to Welcome the New Age Networking
Pakistan is also gearing up to harness the potential of 5G in the coming years. According to the sources, the country has successfully tested 5G network, and the service is expected to be available by early next year. 5G service in Pakistan will be 100 times faster than the current levels, while the network will be 10 times faster than existing broadband connections available in the country.
It will significantly impact Pakistan’s economic transformation, social progress, and create new avenues of entertainment. In the current changing times, telecommunications operators call for a tech and infrastructure upgrade to support the customers’ willingness to upgrade. Network and cellular companies are experimenting and performing various lab and field tests to prepare themselves to launch the technology when it is ready.
5G has become a new battleground for various smartphone manufacturers, and it should be affordable, accessible, and compatible with emerging technologies. Foldable smartphones, highly robust infrastructure, automated operation chains are at the growing agenda for the communication providers.
Front Ending the 5G Wave
Various smartphone providers such as vivo are spearheading the 5G technology R&D and standardization with the 5G research institute centers. Last year we saw, vivo formally launching the 5G signaling tester prototype, and accomplishing 5G First Call in August. This was an initial key milestone in completing the development of 5G smartphone hardware and software for commercial usage.
vivo is relentlessly walking towards the development of 5G and making 5G devices available in the markets. In 2019, vivo launched the sub-brand iQOO with the tagline “born strong”, and its first 5G smartphone iQOO Pro 5G, making itself one of the first brands with a 5G smartphone launched.
As of May 2020, vivo has applied over 2,000 5G invention patents and submitted over 3,800 5G proposals to the telecommunications standard development organizations of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), listing as one of the top ten influential brands of 3GPP.
vivo believes 5G smartphones will act as a hub for Smart Sensors, Smart Control and Smart Services. Hence, in order to stay ahead, the curve vivo has accelerated its research and development towards introducing 5G ready smartphones and intends to become one of the first to deliver users with the next generation experience.
With time, 5G equipped smartphones will be the data hub for the world, bringing the vastness of the digital world to users’ fingertips.
Eric Kong is the Chief Executive Officer at vivo Pakistan since 2017 and has been in the mobile industry for over 20 years. Under his leadership, vivo has established a strong foothold in the market as one of the top smartphone brands owing to its sleek designs, innovative camera capabilities, and trendsetting technologies. Eric Kong is responsible for driving every aspect of vivo’s mobile business forward and bring innovative technologies in the Pakistan market.
Mr. Eric Kong CEO Vivo Pakistan in full agreement with your recommendations/trails in Pakistan, and most of all bringing the retail cost to a level that would encourage R&D., for newer applications, Video Streaming to run on Cloud.
The 5 Video tech./Infrastructure upgrade 3GPS.
I’m very keen to understand the Applications to Cut the Cord of TV., broadcast with the Apps., with the 5Video tech.,/infrastructure upgrade 3GPS.
As you know with the Roku cutting the cord for the TV., I wanted to simulate/test the 5G on TV., with related costs of the hardware, and the 5G accession network.
I need to purchase a trail handset for simulation on this imagination, which is likely possible. Please reply on eMail.