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The Promise of 5G
An anonymous reader writes: From instant monitoring of leaking pipelines, to real-time worldwide collaboration, the increase in machine-to-machine communications that 5G allows will change the way we live. This TechCrunch article takes a look at the promise that 5G holds and its possibilities. From the article: "By 2030, 5G will transform and create many uses that we cannot even think of yet. We will live in a world that will have 10-100 times more Internet-connected devices than there are humans. Hundreds of billions of machines will be sensing, processing and transmitting data without direct human control and intervention."
This is the contemporary version of the "flying car". It's nonsense that will never happen. Ever.
I mean, afterall, we're all so good at network security now...
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I just cannot get excited about 5G because there are still large gaps in 4G coverage. I'd like to see the telecoms finish what they started.
There is not much more in this article than in Slashdot summary. You can skip it.
And speaking of 4G vs 5G... I can burn through my 5 GB/month data allowance in about 45 minutes by maxing out my 4G connection. Not in any hurry to do it in 45 seconds via 5G.
O RLY? 4G is way too slow for real-time traffic.
Hundreds of billions of machines will be sensing, processing and transmitting data without direct human control and intervention.
Your toaster is talking about you behind your back.
Have gnu, will travel.
The subject kind of says it all. Around here we have pockets of LTE, larger areas of 3G, but the bulk of our geographic area has no service or just barely enough to send and receive an SMS message. I don't see where 5G means a thing to us here.
There are a few actually. Building security systems now are not dependent on landlines, so it's harder for someone to sever the security system's ability to report trouble. Medical alert monitoring is easier and works away from the residence more reliably. Cars can report-in when there's a likely automobile accident and can get map information in real-time instead of relying on outdated locally-stored maps exclusively. For those that want to spend the money, they can have full Internet access nearly everywhere they go, so businesses have made use of this for real-time status reporting (think package delivery) and for general Internet use.
Now, most of these were achieved with "G" and "2G" speeds. It's tough to say that beyond being able to add realtime video capability that there have been too many significant improvements.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
"Statistics show that 20 percent of our water supply is lost every single day because of leaks in the pipes that make up the national infrastructure...
Monitoring every pipe in real time would require the ability to gather and analyze huge volumes of data at speeds that are just not possible today. "
I'm not sure how 5G is going to help our 100 year old supply pipes that we can't even afford to repair. Perhaps we can plug the cracks with 5G Nokia phones.
This appears to be a promo aimed at ignorant investors. It's hard to believe that the Nokia CTO would write such nonsense to the tech savvy.
...omphaloskepsis often...
First, an inventor invented invented a pipe, and installed it, and it was found to leak. Then a plumber improved the pipe and re-installed it, and would never leak again.
Then a new-age company said they could build a cheaper pipe to save costs. It was installed, and it leaked only sometimes. Then a plumber figured out precisely how often it would leak, and designed a maintenance plan to prevent it from leaking, so the leaking would never be a problem again.
Then an accountant saw the money being spent on maintenance of a pipe that didn't leak, and reduced the maintenance until it started to leak.
Now, a new-age company is offering to invent and build and install billions of sensors on the pipe, to see when it's leaking, so we'll know when to perform the maintenance.
It'll work great. Not only will we know exactly when to send out the maintenance crew -- i.e. pretty close to the same rate as when the plumber designed the maintenance plan the first time, because he wasn't stupid -- but we'll spend more money on the sensors than we will on the pipe.
As my mother's always said. You can pay me now, or you can pay me later. So the pipe will be cheap, and the maintenance will be occasional, and the sensors will be amazing.
And then we'll save money on the sensors.
And then we'll have a maintenance plan for the sensors.
And then we'll start monitoring the sensors.
It's turtles all the way down.
Anyone remember how much the high quality pipe that didn't leak in the first place cost? I didn't think so.
Hundreds of billions of machines will be sensing, processing and transmitting data without direct human control and intervention."
Hundreds of billions of machines will be connected to botnets that will be indirectly controlled by humans for fun and profit at the expense of others.