For decades, technology has been the protagonist of some of the main changes in society and industry. The different advances are created from the needs that arise, whether to solve problems in the routines of companies or people – and we have seen that an efficient internet connection plays a fundamental role in the implementation of real use cases.
In this sense, 5G arrives to bring even more advances, not only to meet this need for a good connection, but also to enable Artificial Intelligence and IoT (Internet of Things) in the industry. In Brazil, the arrival of the fifth generation of internet will bring great opportunities for companies to move towards the much talked about Industry 4.0.
The great enabler of this “industry of the future” will be the 5G private networks. These networks offer dedicated and optimized resources, as well as higher reliability and low latency. Not to mention the unique benefits for IoT applications and mobile coverage and capacity for high data speeds, whether indoors or outdoors.
And it is in this context that 5G mmWave appears as the protagonist for the development of these networks, due to its propagation characteristics that allow mobile operators to consider the implementation of 5G technology in closed environments. This is made possible as the same mmWave spectrum can bring multi-gigabit speeds, ultra-low latency and massive capacity to a wide variety of indoor environments such as businesses, transportation hubs and even stadiums.
Wireless private networks
5G mmWave will therefore be essential to increase the capacity and efficiency of the industrial sector. Factories and assemblers that adopt the concept of Industry 4.0 will be able to use this technology in private networks to connect machines and robots, replacing the connection through cables.
These connections will allow the inherent flexibility of wireless communications, as they can quickly reconfigure the location of robots or machines, significantly increasing production and plant efficiency.
But not only that. When we look at the technology market growth, the numbers are encouraging. A new study by the International Data Corporation (IDC), titled Worldwide Private LTE/5G Infrastructure Forecast, 2022-2026, shows that worldwide private LTE/5G wireless infrastructure revenues will reach $8.3 billion by 2026, a significant increase compared to 2021 revenue of $1.7 billion.
In Brazil, investments in private networks are already being carried out. A good example is the collaboration of Qualcomm with Juganu and Nokia to implement smart 5G networks. Entitled Conecta 5G, the project aims to accelerate the digital transformation of Brazilian municipalities. The companies involved demonstrate that the use of street lighting devices can dramatically simplify the installation and deployment of 5G technology, while significantly reducing the cost and time to implement the solution.
Finally, with the rise of the use of private networks, the adoption of technology by companies will gradually grow as 5G evolves. We have a long way to go and we know that this ecosystem is still under development, but on the other hand, I see this scenario with optimism. After all, among the many positive points, the implementation of a private network is something profitable, which ends up arousing more and more the interest of companies in the technology.
