5G: why do we need it?

While LTE networks are seemingly just now starting to take off and are not yet omnipresent, networking vendors and carriers are already fully engaged in a vivid discussion on 5G's perspectives. Some companies have even started to actively invest in PR efforts, like Megafon and Huawei who promised to launch a 5G trial for FIFA 2018, which will be held in Russia.

Those who struggle to stay ahead of the game are quite indecisive about 5G's benefits: "High-bandwidth mobile Internet access and an increasing number of affordable devices drive massive growth of data volumes. 5G connectivity will provide higher capacity networks, which will ease the load and lower the latency when transmitting the signal. Subscribers will be able to experience higher mobile speeds which will become available with the new standard – for instance, enjoying video streaming from second one, without waiting for the file to buffer", Huawei comments.

One of the major reasons why 5G will inevitably emerge is the need for more capacity — enough to accommodate all IoT (Internet of Things) devices. It is predicted that every household will soon have over one hundred 'smart' connected devices — some of which might serve as 'base stations' to connect other appliances, like refrigerators or TVs. This approach is called Massive MIMO (Multiple Input, Multiple Output): a client device connects to a number of transceivers simultaneously

A side advantage of 5G, in terms of security, is the possibility of finally eliminating Wi-Fi — high-bandwidth mobile Internet will outperform legacy solutions and even function better indoor than outdoor.