In this event at the San Diego headquarters, Qualcomm not only sharedCurrent development of 5G network technology and future views on 6G network development, and demonstrated through practical explanations how 5G network technology can make urban traffic smoother, improve production line efficiency, and even change existing computing models.
Qualcomm believes that many current 5G network technology applications were actually proposed as early as the development of 4G network technology. For example, application models such as the Internet of Things, the Internet of Vehicles, smart industry, and smart cities were actually imagined during the development of 3G networks and then entered the 4G era. In the development stage of 5G networks, they were once again used as practical application topics.
Indeed, many of the currently proposed 5G networking applications were mentioned in the early stages of 4G network application development. This is because when network transmission bandwidth is greatly improved, many high-speed wireless network transmission application modes are easy to quantify and compare, such as how much file size can be downloaded in a certain number of seconds, and these are often brought up to explain the development process of newly launched network technologies.
For example, when factory production lines use 5G networks to establish connection channels between various devices, they can achieve wireless application effects with higher data transmission capacity and greater stability. This not only reduces the trouble of production lines being affected by wired connections, or having to check each line one by one when connection problems arise, but also allows for flexible adjustment of deployment scale according to factory production needs, making overall maintenance operations simpler. Furthermore, due to the improved data transmission efficiency, the overall production line operation can be smoother, and the power loss generated during the production line operation can be relatively reduced.
Similarly, in connected car applications that are continuously connected via mobile networks, vehicles with always-on connectivity can "connect and communicate" with each other. They can also access the latest road information through smart traffic lights that also have network connectivity on the roadside, or through the Internet. This allows drivers to know the road conditions ahead in advance, and even allows connected vehicles to slow down in advance or proactively avoid danger. It also makes vehicle navigation planning more efficient, thereby reducing overall vehicle travel time and, in turn, reducing energy losses such as fuel and electricity.
Scaling these applications to the entire urban environment and integrating 5G network resources will further improve traffic scheduling efficiency, directing urban traffic to other idle roads as much as possible, thereby reducing traffic congestion during peak traffic times such as commuting and major events.
On the other hand, continuous internet connectivity allows real-time monitoring of fires and other incidents within the city, enabling the police and firefighting systems to operate more efficiently rather than relying solely on reports from others. Real-time monitoring of various data and the dissemination of information via digital signage can even allow city residents to utilize real-time reporting systems, allowing them to prepare for natural disasters and climate change at an earlier stage.
In fact, these applications can meet sufficient demand during the development stage of 4G networks. Will the switch to 5G network applications be just to meet the needs of a larger number of device connections and greater data transmission volume?
5G network is not just about increasing transmission bandwidth, it also includes more new technologies and application development.
Many 5G network technologies are based on 4G, and many people imagine 5G networks simply as a further increase in network bandwidth. However, the more important aspects of 5G network development are new technologies, new spectrum resource applications, and software-defined features that provide more flexible deployment. Compared to the previous transitions from 2G to 3G and from 3G to 4G, this shift goes beyond simply increasing network bandwidth.
For example, unlicensed spectrum, which is listed as a key application for 5G network technology, allows 5G network deployment to utilize publicly available frequency bands (such as the currently globally accepted 5GHz band), white space bands in different countries and regions that are not designated for specific purposes (such as the 6GHz band open for Wi-Fi transmission in the United States), and network bands designated for specific public purposes (such as the 5GHz band approved for 3.7G network services in Germany). This allows for greater flexibility in adjusting 5G network transmission bandwidth to meet different needs.
In addition to unlicensed spectrum, technologies including millimeter wave (mmWave), beamforming, and MIMO (Multi-input Multi-output) are all crucial to the development of 5G networks. Connectivity methods like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth also complement 5G network technology. To extend the life of connected devices, even battery and energy technology will be improved.
Therefore, as 5G network technology continues to develop, many related supporting technologies will also be updated. Applications such as the aforementioned smart manufacturing and smart cities, as well as smart homes and smart offices, and even more human-computer interaction and computing usage models in the future are likely to undergo significant changes with the development of 5G network technology, thereby driving greater market value growth.
