Beyond 5G – A brave new world

It is change, continuing change, inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today. No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be, Isaac Asimov.

The surprises and challenges that technology is throwing at us continues unabated. It’s not over yet, we still have a long way to go for a technology utopia, but it does feel that whatever one has read in science fiction or seen in a science fiction movie or in spy movies is not only coming true but getting mainstreamed and makes you wonder what’s coming next and when.

I say this in context with the excitement around 5G. For some time now excitement levels have been high around the (inevitable) 5G rollout and its impact on user experiences that is expected to be taken to an altogether different level. This long awaited experience is now only a few quarters away. And this transition from 3G to 5G has been around 7-8 years. The generational change has shortened significantly.

The speeds that we expect to change from 3G (upto 20 Mbps) to 4G (upto 1Gps) to 5G is huge. 5G promises to go upto 20 Gbps, 20 times faster than 4G.

From my perspective, I already see a huge difference when on 4G while doing online streaming, video calls, gaming, movie downloads, improved HD videos, multitasking etc. It’s changed the way I access the net as well, often using my mobile as a hotspot.

Many gadgets and solutions have died and new business models have emerged. Online payments, and mobile banking are not a problem at all and all this while the 4G networks are still not giving the peak speeds they promised.

The speed and reliability of 4G networks has spawned many new businesses which have not only provided consumers’ convenience but also threatened existing business models. The impact is there for all of us to see and feel on an everyday basis.

And 5G will be 20x faster than 4G! The very thought brings a smile and a sense of amazement and excitement at the very thought of disruptions that it could cause.

But hold on! This is not where it stops. We have already started talking of a generation beyond 5G. We have not even experienced 5G yet and we already have companies talking 6G. And the incredible part is even that may become reality in the not too distant future.

Papers and architectures are being published, prototypes being proposed and speeds being promised which are 50x of 5G which is 1000 Gbps, and reliability which will be 100 times better than 5G. And given that generational change is reducing, 6G will for sure be a reality within the next decade.

A hyper connected world enabled through intelligent sensors, always ON world will be a different experience, data being collected round the clock, with very powerful SoCs and GPUs, we will truly experience a world where AI will rule the roost because it will be embedded in sensors, SoCs, and devices, in every product.

The possibilities are immense and many of them very much within the realm of possibilities. Immersive gaming will be the norm, digital replicas will be common, we will move to 3D content consumption and holograms will see the light of the day. Robots will be commonplace.

While all this is a few years away, the underlying investments and impact that these changes will have on embedded technologies, firmware, devices, networks, operating systems, application software and other associated technologies will not only be immense but profound.

The opportunities it will provide for the entire Indian tech ecosystem will be massive. For engineering services, the best is yet to come.

Just the thought that I will for sure have a device which will be 100 times faster than 5G in my hand a decade from now gives me goose pimples. I don’t know what I will do with it but given the experience so far of having lived through from 1G to 5G, I am sure that there is a whole new world that will reveal itself to us very
shortly.