How 5G will lead Sri Lanka towards info com and knowledge-rich society

5G is poised to transform our future sooner than we expect. Once deployed, 5G is expected to help evolve the communication paradigm, and give birth to new products, Internet of Things (IoT) devices and industries, as it offers a huge leap forward in speed, capacity and connectivity. 

Assessing 5G power 
5G, or 5th generation mobile is the next big disruption in wireless communication that has the power to change the world. To put it into context, 5G is 20 times faster than 4G and has a 1-millisecond latency (response time), which is 400 times faster than you blink. 

Speed by itself has no value unless it can be put to tangible use. So, the way in which the power of 5G will be harnessed to generate value for lives, industries and to the nation will define its success or failure.  

From 4G to 5G
Like the 4G revolution where it improved lives and amenities, 5G will take everything to the next level. As a result, the very first change mobile consumers will experience is faster mobile data speeds, enabling people to download, live stream and gaming online without any interruption in connections. 

However, this is just one part of 5G’s offering; the key focus of 5G is to gradually work towards transforming the communication landscape, powering a whole heap of new IoT devices, Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and Digitalization of industries such as E-Health, Transport & Logistics, Environmental Monitoring, Smart Energy Networks, Agriculture, Retail Systems and more. 

Changing lives and powering new industries
The way we use our smartphones and other smart devices will change dramatically with the deploymentof 5G because 5G will transform concept modules into mainstream dominators. For example, electric cars, which seemed far-sighted goal, are fast becoming a reality today. 

Similarly, latest IoT devices that are at a nascent stage will soon become a reality with 5G, further improving our lives and creating a new world of connectivity through the power of 5G technology.  

On the industrial front, 5G will significantly increase productivity and efficiency through the process of effective automation of tasks and digital connectivity. 5G’s power to enable SMART businesses from agriculture to manufacturing through a wealth of data will provide access to identify new insights, enabling industries to do more, deliver more and contribute more to the national economy. Further, 5G will also facilitate businesses with strategic decision-making based on Big Data and insights generated through advanced data analytics and data science - enabling organizations to identify new avenues and redefine customer experience whilst experiencing reduced cost on the overall digital operation. 

5G brings new prospects to telecom sector 
The dawn of 5G has opened an array of avenues for communication service providers to further improve their business in various ways. 5G brings new prospects for communications service providers to offer new services through Smart living, industrial digitalization, Augmented Reality, Big Data and many more.  

In addition, with increasing demand for data every year, it is expected that the average data consumption of a user will grow from 5GB to 17GB per month when 5G is commercially made available. In Sri Lanka, between 2012 and 2017, total mobile data traffic increased by an average of 76 percent per annum and is expected to grow by 48% in the next four years. This growing demand indicates potential for operators to capitalize on new opportunity to drive business growth in fixed, high-speed broadband services. 

Understanding this change, Mobitel, as the National Mobile Service Provider started commencing the groundwork for 5G infrastructure to be launched in the near future. As the pioneer in broadband services, Mobitel also trialed 5G for the first time in South Asia, proving that it is ready to lead Sri Lanka into info com and 
knowledge-rich society. 

What 5G means for Sri Lanka
As technology drives expectations to new heights every day, the telecom market continues to become increasingly saturated and the ‘insatiable’ demand for data for usage of over-the-top (OTT) services has led to the decline of traditional voice and SMS usage, further raising the service expectations of today’s digital consumer. In this backdrop, telcos need to relook at their offerings and redefine ‘customer experience’ to differentiate and make a mark in the telecommunication sector. In other words, customer experience should be put at the heart of every service offering. 

5G connectivity will be key to the spread of artificial intelligence and machine learning, enabling massive amounts of data to be collected from remote and mobile sensors and evaluated in real-time. This will drive everything from home appliances that order groceries to autonomous vehicles to smart cities. 5G and IoT will also be the engine for innovation and most importantly will create new business models and revenue streams for industries, enabling Sri Lanka to drive its key ambition in creating a SMART nation by 2025. 

(About the writer- Nalin Perera, CEO of Mobitel (PVT) Ltd is a veteran in the mobile telecommunication industry with over 30 years of experience. Nalin’s mastery in brand management, product and channel development, and human resource management skills have lent him an enviable edge when it comes to distinguishing the company’s portfolio from the rest in the industry)