The State of 5G: When It's Coming, How Fast It Will Be & The Sci-Fi Future It Will Enable

Connecting Everything in the World to a Wireless Smart Grid

Although 5G may seem like just another generational upgrade for mobile networks, touting more speed and less latency than previous iterations, the years-long migration will require an expansion of cellular networks worldwide to include millions of new antennas that will become the backbone of IoT (Internet of Things) and its billions of sensor-laden devices, from smart dustto smart cars.

The convergence of technologies such as 5G, IoT, blockchain and AI would enable a fully meshed world of wirelessly connected everything that would be seamlessly woven into the fabric of our existence, imbuing our environment with an intelligence that evaluates and responds to us, ultimately transforming how we interact with our day-to-day surroundings.

Many industries expect 5G to generate billions of dollars through currently unrealized revenue streams, providing an endless supply of applications and services to the more than four billion additional people 5G is hoped to reach. Qualcomm for example predicts that by 2035, the network will enable $12 trillion worth of goods and services and the company has claimed in the past that 5G will be "bigger than electricity," while the World Economic Forum describes the era we're entering as being "the Fourth Industrial Revolution."

That level of profitability and the potential for tracking every grain of sand on the planet has encouraged massive rollouts via public/private partnerships who are aiming to create a ubiquitous smart grid. That grid would facilitate a more connected society in line with the global sustainability goals outlined by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and supported at the 2018 Davos World Economic Forum.

The U.S. Federal government has been enthusiastic about a high-speed build-out of 5G from the very beginning, with former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler stressing the importance of this communication upgrade to the national infrastructure, opening up large swathes of spectrum to accommodate increased speeds and many (billions of) additional devices being added to our already saturated wireless infrastructure.