How can we be at the forefront of the technological and digital revolution that is affecting every aspect of our lives? In an era of whirlwind change like ours, we need to have the best partner to adapt to the new environment and embrace the knowledge and new forms of relationships that will shape the future. Connection and connectivity will be of key importance to stay ahead and harness all the opportunities that are yet to come.
5G, the mobile telephony revolution, is a driving force of change and an essential tool for the digital transformation of people, companies, cities and society in general. At a technical level, this technology creates a new telecommunications landscape marked by greater speed and lower latency (response time). This means new possibilities. It will allow us to connect a multitude of devices (mobile phones, household appliances, sensors and gadgets of all kinds) without overloading the network. People will enjoy longer-lasting batteries, greater digital reliability, full mobile coverage, instant downloads and clearer-sounding calls. A giant leap that will open the door to a new user experience.
For companies, 5G is a major gateway to disruptive technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data. Among other advantages, it will make it possible to work remotely, free of problems with speed, device access and the number of people connected. Machine interconnection will usher in a new industrial age with quantum improvements in productivity, efficiency and sustainability. In addition, we will witness a Copernican change in sectors such as the automotive industry, with the development of self-driving cars.
5G will also represent a major breakthrough for the digitalisation of cities and their development into smart service providers (Smart Cities). Urban management will be transformed with the implementation of 5G in the 700 MHz band and the sensorisation of all services. The new mobile technology will improve people’s quality of life, while boosting sustainability by reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions. Medicine will see a new golden age thanks to the use of precision sensors and remote surgery. The gift of being everywhere at once will also be possible for interactive distance learning or simply shopping in a traditional market through an assistant with augmented reality glasses.
Deployment of all the possibilities of 5G is a competitive factor and has strategic importance. As such, red.es —a corporate state-owned entity attached to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation through the State Secretariat for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence— fosters the development of 5G technology pilot projects and experiences such as the 5G Catalunya project. This pilot is being developed by a consortium of eight companies led by Cellnex Telecom and the MASMOVIL Group, with the participation of the Catalan operator Parlem Telecom; Aumenta Solutions, a company specialising in augmented reality for industry; the engineering firm Atos; the consultants Nae; the technology company Lenovo and the start-up Nearby Computing – a Barcelona Supercomputing Center spin-off.
These projects will make it easier to experiment with 5G technology, explore new features, develop use cases and gain knowledge on network roll-out and use of the radio-electric spectrum. Experience is the mother of science. Developing the potential of the new generation of mobile telephony requires a collective effort to develop the infrastructure and give substance to proposals for new services and products. A new world is waiting to be invented.