5G's impact on Connectivity, Business models, and Industry applications

Dharmender Khajuria, Head of Network Partnerships at Bharti Airtel, delivered an engaging session on the transformative potential of 5G in shaping the future of industries, business models, and connectivity. He discussed the significant features of 5G, including speed, low latency, and capacity, while emphasising how these aspects will revolutionise sectors like smart cities, healthcare, agriculture, and entertainment.

Speed, Low Latency, and Enhanced Capacity

Khajuria opened his presentation by reiterating the key features of 5G, its 10x faster speed compared to 4G, ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC), and enhanced capacity. These features, he noted, will enable near real-time responses between machines and systems, making 5G critical for industries like healthcare, robotics, and autonomous vehicles. The combination of high speed and low latency will allow for more advanced applications, such as remote surgery, real-time diagnostics, and vehicle-to-vehicle communication in autonomous driving.

Impact on Industries: From Smart Cities to Healthcare

Khajuria highlighted how 5G will drive new business models and reshape industries. In smart cities, 5G will enable real-time communication between infrastructure, traffic lights, and vehicles, reducing accidents and improving city management. He also pointed to healthcare as a key sector that will benefit from 5G, particularly in rural areas. Connected healthcare devices will allow real-time monitoring of patients in remote locations, with instant data transmission to specialists in urban centers. This could be a game-changer for providing timely medical care to underserved populations.

Innovations in Manufacturing and Agriculture

In manufacturing, Khajuria discussed the shift towards Industry 4.0 and 5.0, where IoT and 5G will connect machines and sensors to automate entire production processes. This real-time data exchange will improve inventory management, optimise production lines, and enhance overall efficiency. He also touched on the impact of 5G in agriculture, where IoT sensors will provide farmers with real-time data on irrigation, soil conditions, and crop health, allowing for more efficient and sustainable farming practices.

Subscription-Based Services and New Business Models

Khajuria also talked about how 5G will enable new business models, such as subscription-based services. He gave the example of how streaming services, powered by 5G, can provide seamless content delivery, allowing businesses to scale globally. He shared a real-world case from Barcelona’s MWC, where musicians across the globe performed in perfect synchronisation, demonstrating the power of 5G in enabling real-time collaboration across continents.

RedCap and the Future of IoT

To conclude, Khajuria introduced the concept of RedCap, a new technology that allows for cheaper, low-complexity IoT devices to be integrated into the 5G network. This will significantly increase the number of connected IoT devices, projecting that the global number of IoT devices will quadruple to 8 billion by 2030. RedCap will make 5G accessible for a broader range of applications, from wearables to health monitors, enabling widespread adoption of 5G technology in everyday life.

In his comprehensive talk, Khajuria showcased the far-reaching impact of 5G on industries, business models, and global connectivity, emphasising its role as a catalyst for future innovations.