5G: What are the usecases?
Well, if one is to go by the type of PLMN (Public Land Mobile Network) ITU-R is asking to be built under IMT-2020 - then it should be able to support some of the use cases which are currently in the realm of science fiction. Let me high light few of the uses case which should excite us
Driverless X (x=any autonomous vehicle)
Driverless car, bus, helicopter or any form of short haul commuter. Well many of us have worked from home (WFH). How about being able to drive from home (DFH) - without having to get into your car? You need to drop of the kids to school in the morning, lazy to get into the car, no problem - just virtually drive it from your comfort of your dining table. Or it could be commuter bus being driven remotely. Or fleet of car or helicopter being driven or flown from remote centre say in a low cost location, having excess manpower.
In order for this to happen, you need several advances in the communication system (besides of course the advances in the transport platform). An ultra (not just high) reliable and low latency communication (URLLC) is needed and these must have seamless communication coverage, possibly by various RT (Radio Technology). These would be possible in 5G network.
Remote/Tele-medicine and surgery
Skilled surgeons and medical practitioner are always in short supply, the patients however are scattered all across the city or county. With IMT-2020 URLLC feature, it would now be possible for such skilled practitioners and surgeons to remotely diagnose and operate.
The IMT network would be build to give the "flash" response reliably which would be needed if these futuristic usecases, where one would put ones life and limbs to risk, remotely.
There is severe shortage of medical practitioner in some parts of the country, say rural areas or poorer neighbourhoods. At the same time there could be large number of medical practitioners seeking patients in another part. Using tele-medicine it would be possible to bridge this demand and supply gap.
Augmented/Virtual Reality (AR/VR)
AR/VR research and interest has peaked in recent years. This technology has potential to disrupt the current user devices like tablet and smartphones. How about immersive chat room experience with your friends, family, colleagues or strangers? Or watch your favourite TV soap or sports right in the middle of where the action is. You could choose your viewing angle and place. So literally you would be able to watch your favourite actor or player from very close quarter. Sounds like a sci-fi, but not anymore. Apart from AR/VR devices, what would be needed would be high bandwidth low latency connection, which would be possible in a 5G network.
Internet of Things
IP-fication of anything is not a new concept. While we are seeing IoT uptake of newer and novel, it has not exploded to the extent it should have. One of the reason could be large number of IoT protocols in place, none ubiquitous enough to match the reach and scale of IMT. Recognising this, 5G has put in place recommendations to address needs of this space. Previous IMT till 4G was designed to address needs of a laptop or smartphone device.
Multimedia
The muti-media consumption pattern is also changing. Not only are the screens becoming bigger, they are having more pixels in given square cm of area. Due to fall in cost these screens are appearing at all sorts of places. People are also starting to consume dynamic and non linear content on all form of screens. These poses unique technical challenges on the network.
5G recommendations in M.2083 clearly recognises these emerging trends and has put in technical specifications to support the usecases. In my next series of article I will discuss the technical aspects of 5G - on radio and network part.
Reference: ITU-R M.2083
(views personal, does not represent that of my employer past present or future)