5G mobile update from Ericsson and Samsung at Mobile World Congress (MWC)

5G mobile communication is coming and prototypes are being developed along with demonstrations. (Remember the saying that projects had to "demo or die")?

Here are a couple of 5G prototype demos:

Samsung transmission speed demo -- 7.5 gbps standing still and a 1.2 gbps in a car going 112 kph:



Erricson demonstrates seamless hand-off between LTE and 5G:



and they brought their virtual reality, remote control excavator with them to MWC:



The final products will probably not be as fast as these prototypes, but they will eventually cost about the same as today's mobile radios.

Both Samsung and Ericsson are talking about initial deployment around 2020, but general rollout and ubiquitous adoption will take many years after that. (This is one technology in which developing nations, which are generally more mobile reliant than developed nations, may somewhat narrow the digital divide). Furthermore, there are no 5G standards, and you can bet there will be more than one.

<dream>
Wouldn't it be nice if there were a global 5G standard -- everyone using the same license free spectrum and protocols -- your phone moving seamlessly between nations and carriers -- cars that were compatible with instrumented roads everywhere ... like WiFi ...?
</dream>

Awake again -- Maybe I will get a Verizon 5G phone for use in the US around 2022.

By that time, out mobile devices will be 10-20 times as powerful and there will be a lot of "things" connected to the Internet. What new applications will we find for this high-speed, low-latency wireless connectivity?

European 5G vision spelled out at MWC

A European Union memo predicts that by 2020 there will be more than 30 times as much mobile internet traffic as there was in 2010 and that traffic will reflect the massive growth in machines and sensors using the Internet to communicate -- the "Internet of things."

They predict that 5G won't just be faster, it will bring new functionalities and applications with high social and economic value in the following areas:

• eHealth
• Connected homes:
• Secure transport
• Smart grids
• Entertainment

The memo concludes with links to several 5G research projects in which the EU has invested €50 million, a Mobile World Congress speech on the Connected Continent by Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda and the Digital Agenda Web site.

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Update 4/8/2014

UK and Germany to cooperate on 5G. The UK government signals a push on ‘5G’ mobile technology -- after falling behind on 4G mobile, they hope to catch up with 5G.