Yesterday the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted unanimously to open airways for 5G Networks; this vote also made America the first country in the world to make spectrum available.

Today the Obama Administration announced that they would spend hundreds of millions on the 5G mobile network. “The Commission has struck a balance between new wireless services, current and future fixed satellite service operations, and federal uses,” said the FCC’s commissioners

Credit: Pete Souza
Credit: Pete Souza/The Verge

But what does the 5G means?

G stands for Generation, so the U.S in going to spend hundreds of millions on the next generation of wireless technology.

1G was analog cellulars; 2G were technologies such as CDMA, TDMA, and GSM; 3G Technologies were EVDO, UMTS, HSPA; And current 4G are technologies such as LTE and WiMAX.

So 5G is the next leap in Wireless technology and it is said that it will use and encoding called OFDM which is similar to EVDO, but it will be designed for much lower latency.

This new development might help the development of driverless cars. Lower latencies will let these cars interact with each other almost instantly which will lead to safer cars and roads.

It is also said that this technology will help Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality (AR / VR) be more available for mobiles, this way the low latency and constant speed of 5G will contribute to having an Internet-Augmented world on your mobile.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) will start building City-Scaled testing platforms on 2017. These testing cities will be given 5G antennas so public and private researchers can test it.

The NSF also announced the following:

  • Two prize challenges to enhance wireless broadband connectivity.
  • A $6 million jointly funded solicitation with Intel Labs on information-centric wireless edge networks
  • A $4.7 million joint NSF- and Academy of Finland-funded solicitation to support joint U.S.-Finland research projects
  • Federal funding of a Millimeter Wave Research Coordination Network A large-scale networking  platforms “Communities of Practice” workshop
  • Follow-on NSF workshops on ultra-low latency networks

 

According to the White House press office the 5G possible advances in the new decade could lead to:

Mobile phones and tablets that can download full-length HD movies in less than 5 seconds, 100 times faster than 4G (6 minutes) and 25,000 times faster than 3G (26 hours).

First responders and emergency room doctors who get live, real-time video and sensor data from police vehicles, ambulances, and drones, along with patient vitals and medical records—all before the patient arrives at the hospital door.

Semi- or fully-autonomous vehicles that can communicate with the outside world and with each other to improve travel efficiency and safety.

Factories equipped with always-connected smart manufacturing equipment that self-diagnose and repair themselves before they break.

Gigabit-speed wireless broadband available in businesses, public transportation stations, stadiums, campuses, schools, malls, parks, and other public spaces.

Virtual reality training environments and simulators that allow entry-level workers to develop and demonstrate skills in high-demand fields like solar energy installation—anytime, from anywhere.

Source: PC Mag