Within the next three years, 5G will be the new standard for mobile content delivery. Industry experts have spent the last year discussing the benefits 5G will provide. However, less attention has been paid to the complex relationship between 5G and big data.
Big data needs must be addressed before 5G can be possible
The coming launch of 5G is one of the most exciting technological breakthroughs of our lifetime. However, it is taking longer than many people would hope. Broadband communication companies first discussed the introduction of 5G back in 2013, and it won’t hit the market until 2020.
The reason for the delay is simple. We still lack the infrastructure necessary to implement 5G. This will require investments in deep fibre and other hardware to support the big data needs that 5G technology is about to create.
The seldom discussed relationship between 5G and big data
Big data has made 5G possible. The problem is that many IT providers have closed their minds to other, more promising possibilities. Previous generations of broadband cellular network technology have been far more primitive. They did not offer the IOT support or other capabilities that come with 5G.
The coming 5G networks will depend on a tremendous amount of unstructured data. Here are some changes that they will bring if broadband networks play their cards right.
Fascinating new business analytics capabilities
Alan Carlton published an insightful article on Computerworld earlier this week. He states that 5G will need to be more than a pipeline for big data. Instead, it will be intricately woven into the fabric of big data itself. Carlton claims that 5G networks will be able to use unstructured data for business analytics applications that were unimaginable with previous broadband network services.
IoT will be a key part of 5G, and how this unstructured data is used will be an important part of that story. Think, billions of sensors sending back all types of data (including video) to the network. The opportunity here is to use this data to improve the operation of the network itself or to help the key new applications that will emerge in 5G work better. Big Data based intelligence, of course, refers to techniques to automatically improve network and application performance, recover from error conditions, and provide an improved end-user experience by analysing context, location, etc.
Brands will capture unstructured data on all their customers to understand their behaviour better. This will give them new insights into mobile behaviour unlike anything they have ever had before. This will lead to more effective ads and a better user experience on all mobile content platforms.
Data storage needs will grow exponentially
While brands are delighted to hear about the new doors that 5G opens, broadband communications companies are freaking out as they try to solve their evolving data requirements. The need for data will grow exponentially. There are a few things to keep in mind:
- According to Keysight, 5G usage scenarios will include enhanced mobile broadband speeds clocked at 20 Gbps during peak hours, massive machine-type communications and ultra-reliable and low latency communications.
- The launch of 4G technology caused mobile data requirements to grow 20-fold. Since 5G technology provides unprecedented support for the IOT, it will cause the data needs of broadband providers to grow over 300% by 2021.
- In many metropolitan areas, that will be transferred at speeds of 100 Mb per second or faster.
- New devices will be connected to the IOT and consume more data than analysts concurrently anticipate. This will complicate their forecasts, so they will need to create even larger and more scalable data centres to accommodate future demand.
Brands will need to be very liberal with their future projections to address these problems before they arise.
