Local governments are struggling to respond to the current pandemic, and many technologists believe the massive connectivity, edge compute and ultra-low latency capability of 5G could help. Many people think of 5G as the next generation of cellular network technology only. This is in part because telecom companies have been rolling out 5G test markets and touting the upgraded network’s benefits. As The New Yorker summarized, “5G … is expected to be up to a hundred times faster” than 4G.
But the technologies framed within the 5G network architecture are intended to provide capability far beyond improved speed and lower latency to your phone and streaming services. 5G will enable ultra-reliable communications and computing capabilities at the edge. Edge computing brings compute, storage and networking closer to applications, devices and users.
Pandemics and public health emergencies present a need for widespread data, monitoring and reliable wireless networking. The way to enable front-line pandemic fighters (like medical personnel and first responders) is with an upgraded network providing time-sensitive operation, a range of low to high data transmit capacity and cellular network small cell densification.
How 5G Enables Emergency Preparedness
5G and the internet of things are adding newer applications that need connectivity not just between people but between devices. The main benefit of 5G, especially for public sector applications, is the enablement of machine-to-machine communications. This means devices communicate directly with one another without any human intervention, as promised by the ever-growing internet of things. 5G also enables massive machine type computations, which lead to the low-latency computing required of real-time applications.
These advances represent the backbone of ..
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