No doubt, wireless technology is advancing at an incredible pace. Every day, these technological advances are continuously looking to up the ante for more speed, more power and more efficiency. The ever growing demand from users of mobile networks (concerning capacity and coverage) is driving technologies to advance at a rapid pace.
The Next Evolution (and the need for speed): 3G → 4G → 5G
Back in June we posted a blog, “Time for a Network Upgrade”, demonstrating how technologies like long term evolution (LTE)/4G and tower mounted amplifiers (TMAs) have modernized the wireless network. Every day, operators are faced with the need to quickly update and fortify their networks. They must ensure that their network evolution is well architected and accurately implemented to provide the exceptional experience to their customers.
It’s now looking like a 5G internet connectivity will become available (and continue to push innovation forward) in 2020. 5G network connections will be approximately 66 times faster than today’s standard 4G networks, allow instant access to online content and will be able to easily use cloud storage, stream media, download and more. Major vendors are predicting a 100 to 1,000 fold increase in network capacity. According to ZDNet, “while 4G was about offering increased capacity and speeds for data-hungry users, vendors, telcos, and regulators are working to ensure that 5G is all about coping with the rise of connected machines.”
Pushing the Envelope
Machine to Machine (M2M) takes communication to a whole new level and is predicted that 1 billion cellular M2M connections worldwide by 2020! M2M is a broad label that can be used to describe any technology that enables networked devices to exchange information and perform actions without the manual assistance of humans and is often used for remote monitoring. So, The Jetsons utopian futuristic home filled with robot housekeepers wasn’t that far off after all! Find out more about M2M in our “Behind the Scenes” blog.
More Predictions
Every year, Machina Research makes a set of predictions for what will happen in the world of Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine to Machine (M2M) technology. A few of their top 10 predictions for 2015 include:
• Breakthroughs in smart city service deployment from services that save money such as with street lighting.
• Mobile phones will be integral to IoT as when data analytics use smartphones as one of many processing platforms for geo-distributed analytics.
• M2M will have more regulations.
Game Changers: Technicians
Increasingly, mobile service providers are now in need of knowledgeable and skilled technicians for fiber cable installation, testing and repair to improve quality of service and enhance signal performance. Proper fiber handling techniques must be followed to ensure reliable FTTA (Fiber to the Antenna) installation and performance. By following best practices, tower hands can bring their knowledge of fiber installation and handle the upgrades happening for today’s mobile networks.
Reshaping our Future
The hottest tech headlines may focus on the latest and greatest, but they actually represent a bigger picture: reshaping our future. After all, technology shouldn’t just be about more speed, more power and more efficiency — it’s about improving the way we live, work and play.
KMB brings robust experience, results oriented designs and solutions, and a time sensitive client focused approach to all our assignments whether wireless telecom, solar or MEP we have the dedicated team of professionals to deliver. With experience in multiple LEED projects and energy intensive markets, we look to propose and implement environmentally sound practices on all projects based upon historical evidence of practical, economical results.