The search for 5G’s ‘killer apps’ | Financial Times
At the time, the possibilities of 5G — the fifth-generation mobile network — may have seemed endless. But carriers now face an uphill battle to convince customers that it can offer something tangible and new to their lives.
This is in large part because it is becoming widely understood that 5G and the low latency (removal of delays) it offers will principally benefit businesses rather than consumers — at least for the time being.
I agree with the assessment. While it may sound kosher to consumers that they are stepping into a “futuristic world” with “smart-cities” – it represents a totalitarian and surveillance state. Businesses (specifically, enterprises) remain a significant target for 5G adoption, for example, trucking/smart-metering” or even IoT to run on 5G. However, as noted earlier, I foresee a gradual shift to provisioning private 5G networks, if and when they become a reality.
For consumers:
The report found that consumers would be willing to pay 20 to 30 per cent more for mobile plans that bundled 5G with digital services, but that the majority of the use cases that had been touted — and were most appealing to consumers — had not yet materialised. They included 3D hologram calling, 5G in-car entertainment, and virtual reality shopping.
This can be used for “telemedicine” as well for providing virtual services.
IoT can be embedded in biomedical devices (both for external and internal monitoring). For example, in “smart-monitoring” for diabetes management and “AI-powered” insulin disbursement (as and when required). It is also an innovator’s dilemma, because existing solutions work fine. However, quality of data remains questionable (including locked up EMR’s). Unless there are clear indicators in legislation, data ownership and privacy, it will be a fool’s errand in pushing through narratives for 5G in consumer/enterprise (healthcare) space.
RadOncNotes 