It’s almost six years since 5G’s first deployments and time it made good on its transformative potential and delivered returns on the investment in it
There is clear promise in the way 5G has started to underpin many of the solutions to some of society’s biggest challenges. Additionally, the GSMA’s Mobile Economy report forecasts the number of licensed IoT connections will more than double to 5.3 billion by the end of the decade, but this adoption at scale must be accompanied by innovative uses of the technology.
Such uses are being trialled, including the widespread enablement of drones. They are being used for everything from delivering lifesaving supplies and acting as first responders in accidents, to improving the cost-effectiveness of agriculture through precision farming and farming at scale. 5G is being used to cut energy consumption and facilitate the greening of both the telecoms and other sectors.
Intelligence for the drone ecosystem
The drone ecosystem is evolving fast, driven by both an understanding of the technology’s capabilities and commercial demand. In particular, the beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone applications are underpinned by the connectivity, latency and speeds 5G facilitates, and a thriving market is emerging in the unmanned aerial vehicle space.
At its core is an ecosystem developed through a collaborative effort between Ericsson Drone Mobility and TDC NET, along with our GSMA Foundry innovation team. The ecosystem has helped create a 5G-enabled communication infrastructure to make telecom intelligence accessible to drone developers and encourage innovation.
A great example is in Spain where drones are being used for surveillance and security when specialist personnel are unavailable. Telefónica worked with autonomous robotics experts Unmanned Life surveil headquarters in Las Tablas, Madrid. Two drones, functioning autonomously, stream video back to Telefónica’s security centre where a person recognition system automatically detect any unauthorised entry to the site. The recognition system was developed with edge computing.
The collaboration has resulted in a solution for indoor surveillance for stock management, improving efficiency and accuracy. More frequent checks are possible compared to previous processes carried out by people.
Producing greater output and less waste
Another prominent example comes from China, where ZTE and China Mobile are using 5G connectivity paired with drone technology to fully automate rice production on 12,000 acres of marginal land near Da’an City, Jilin Province. This farm management solution means someone in the farmhouse can control up to five machines simultaneously.
A smart irrigation system is helping make the depleted soil fertile again, while remote controlled machinery and drones have made the farm operations more efficient, productive and sustainable.
A trial of this has already generated a 10% increase in output – an estimated value of 3.3 million yuan (€450,000) – alongside materials and labour cost savings, while the irrigation system uses 40% less water.
Cutting networks’ energy consumption
The mobile industry, led by the GSMA, is committed to the IT sector’s 1.5⁰ pathway and to being carbon net zero by 2050. 5G has a crucial role to play in achieving these goals, both for the mobile sector but also in the way smart technologies will be central to other sectors’ approaches to their own green strategies.
5G allows more data to be moved with less energy than previous generations of mobile networks but this is double-edged – the exponential growth in 5G adoption also means the volume of traffic is escalating rapidly and, with it, the potential for increased energy requirements and associated carbon emissions.
To counter this, Huawei, together with partner operators, is implementing diverse measures to bolster energy efficiency, while safeguarding the end-user experience. These measures include the deployment of all-optical network architectures, increased use of outdoor equipment to reduce the reliance on air conditioning within buildings and cabinets, and the implementation of ‘deep dormancy’ for network elements, allowing them to power down when not in use.
Huawei is also implementing dynamic frequency adjustment, highly integrated radio frequency equipment modules, optimised antenna positioning, passive antenna techniques and AI tools for data-driven generation and execution of network energy efficiency policies.
Our 5G-driven future
The building blocks for innovation are in place and are already being utilised as these examples show.
MWC Barcelona will provide the perfect showcase for the way key industry challenges are being approached with imagination and practicality, from sessions like the Innovation Panel to our GSMA Foundry demos being shown throughout the week – including from the European Space Agency and World Mobile.
The challenge now is to encourage more widespread innovation and to support the scaling and commercial viability of 5G-based projects. Initiatives like the Foundry are essential in facilitating the collaboration and knowledge sharing that underpin these successes. If we can continue uniting key players from the extended telecoms and tech industry and developing next-generation solutions to key societal challenges, 2024 can be a springboard for 5G to start delivering on its true potential.