According to data from Gartner, there will be 6.4 billion connected “things” by the end of 2016, and this figure will rise to 20.8 billion by 2020. These “things” are essentially Internet-connected devices including cars, fridges, washing machines, home security systems, and wearable technology, as well as health and physical activity trackers. Additionally, the IoT industry could generate $4.6 trillion for the public sector and $14.4 trillion for the private sector over the next ten years. This is according to research done by Cisco Systems.
How the Telecommunication Network Works
The telecommunication network consists of a web of base stations that cover a limited area (cell) and transmit mobile phone communications via radio waves. As such, for you to make a call or send a digital message using your mobile phone, you must be within the coverage area of your carrier’s base station. Since one base station can only cover a limited area, mobile carriers typically install many base stations with overlapping coverage areas to avoid signal loss and dropped calls. Most of these cells are normally concentrated in densely populated areas such as urban centers. It is worth noting that each base station consists of wireless antennas that can transmit voice calls, text messages, multimedia messages and Internet signals. These stations are often mounted on top of tall buildings or on existing transmission towers. Unfortunately, current telecommunication networks may not be able to handle the volume of traffic generated by businesses and individuals. In fact, experts reckon the global telecommunication network will be required to handle more than 1,000 times the current traffic volume by 2020. To resolve this problem, most mobile carriers are transitioning from 3G to 4G or 5G telecommunication networks.
IoT Industry Pressure
Traditionally, telecommunications networks have relied on the ultrahigh frequency (UHF) band to connect mobile phones and other Internet-enabled devices. However, the data traffic demands created by smartphones and IoT devices are straining the capacity of the UHF band. New Jersey Institute of Technology notes that mobile data traffic generated in the United States and Canada is expected to reach six exabytes per month by 2020. It is important to note that mobile phones are an essential cog in the IoT chain because most people are likely to connect to IoT devices via smartphones or tablets.
The Era of Connected Cars
According to an article published by The Drive, automobiles were the largest growing connected device segment in the United States during the first quarter of 2016. More specifically, figures published by the consultancy firm Chetan Sharma show that connected cars accounted for 32% of new devices on American cellular networks between January 1 and May 31, 2016. In comparison, phones and tablets accounted for 31% and 32% of connected devices on US cellular networks.
Smart Homes
Smart homes will also cause an increase in cellular network traffic volume as more and more people install web-connected security devices and mobile applications. For instance, homeowners in the United States will download 770 million biometric authentication applications annually by 2019. Moreover, there will be 121 million more smartphones in the United States by 2018. Smartphone ownership will grow because most smart home devices are controlled or accessible via mobile devices.
The Future of 5G
In the race to ramp up the capacity of cellular networks, 4G and 5G have emerged as the leading technologies. With this in mind, 4G LTE networks have top data transmission speeds of about one gigabit per second. On the other hand, 5G networks have download speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second. More importantly, 5G reduces latency substantially compared to 4G. Besides 5G technology, Cavendish Kinetics, a tech startup business, is testing a smartphone antenna that can boost signal connectivity and reduce energy consumption by up to 45%. This is particularly important because better connectivity typically translates to faster data speeds.
Conclusion
The IoT niche is growing into an industry worth trillions of dollars and it will have a huge impact on the way ordinary people interact with cars, electronics and kitchen appliances. However, these devices will put a lot of pressure on cellular networks since they are not built to handle the large volumes of traffic that communications advances will generate in the near future.
