Exploring 5G applications beyond telecom

Rapid evolution of technology is impacting the lives of people by enabling faster communication, interaction, and easy access to information. Additional services and higher throughputs have constantly been driving newer generations of mobility networks.

As the Indian telecom industry gears itself to upgrade the infrastructure and modernize networks to facilitate the roll-out of 5G, it is increasingly looking toward more successful use cases to demonstrate the viability, and also ensure profitability for the huge investments that are being made in making this technology a success. Wider adoptions of 5G services, are, however, challenged by availability of limited and relatively expensive devices and lack of established use cases. And as the Indian market remains very different from the western world, 5G use cases and applications around remote healthcare, agriculture, or even autonomous driving need to be designed uniquely for the next-gen wireless broadband technology to see faster adoption in India.

5G use cases from across the globe
5G use cases will pave the way for automated vehicles, smart cities, automated factories, and a new wave of business communications. According to the results of a study by Accenture, 79 percent of businesses worldwide believe that 5G will have a significant impact on their organization, while 57 percent believe that it will be revolutionary.

There are some evolving 5G use cases. However, because 5G networks are still being rolled out, many of these are actually in the test or proof-of-concept phase, using prototype networks, devices, or other technology.

Telefonica Germany has implemented the world’s first 5G mobile network, for automobile production for Mercedes Benz, in Factory 56 in Sindelfingen, covering an area over 20,000 sq. m, in September 2020.

The main driver for the implementation of a private 5G IoT network in Sindelfingen was the optimization of the existing production processes in the plant with the help of new features, which 5G can enable, such as the data linking or product tracking on the assembly line. With a private 5G network, all processes can be optimized and made more robust, and, if necessary, adapted at short notice to prevailing market requirements. Furthermore, the 5G mobile communications standard links production systems and machines together in an intelligent manner, thereby supporting the efficiency and precision of the production process. A further benefit of using a local 5G network is that sensitive production data do not have to be made available to third parties.

The first use cases that have been implemented in the factory include automated quality control, where the automobile is able to be tested on the production line itself, removing the need for testing post-production; deployment of AGVs through seamless connectivity; and connected screwdrivers across the production line.

The network vendor is Ericsson, the company that has supported the project through network design and implementation. The solution is supported by an end-to-end SLA to provide confidence and trust to Mercedes in the system. It is a complete 5G NSA standalone private network, which will evolve to a 5G SA architecture, as soon as the technology will allow it.

Studies by Qualcomm said that by 2035, 5G will generate more than USD 2.4 trillion across the automotive industry.

According to Gartner, the share of 5G-enabled cars actively connected to a 5G service will reach 94 percent in 2028. 5G will bring a windfall of sales in the automotive sector, but its impact is beyond just that.

Other partnerships for 5G autonomous vehicles:

• e.GO partnered with Ericsson and Vodafone Germany to launch their 5G car production.
• Vodafone partnered with Continental AG to develop a digital safety shield for pedestrians, using edge computing and C-V2X direct communication
• Samsung and HARMAN have collaborated to create a scalable module 5G Telematics that facilitates C-V2X communication.

Verizon, way back in October 2019, announced the deployment of a 5G network at Corning’s, Hickory Manufacturing & Technology Center in Hickory, North Carolina, USA. The technology was so new that, owing to a dearth of 5G-enabled devices, the plant required media converters, gateways, and similar technologies to get the network up and running and ready to conduct experiments.

In 2022, at the same plant, a private wireless 5G network supports experiments to further improve Corning’s fiber optic manufacturing processes. Corning’s current experiments center on a pair of vision system technologies. The first system monitors the extrusion process that creates fiber optic cable, capturing images and feeding them via 5G network directly to computers that analyze the images to detect defects. The second system conducts high-speed inspection of a proprietary fiber-production process, live feeding the data to a system that allows engineers to monitor trends.

Smart stadium in Australia. Providing visitors, attending sporting or music events, with access to incredibly fast indoor and outdoor 5G coverage with speeds over 1 Gbps, Optus has launched 5G services at the Optus Stadium in Perth, Australia. Nokia has supported Optus with the deployment of the technology as well as its ambitious goals for 5G. Optus is utilizing Nokia’s 5G Air Scale indoor radio solution (ASiR) to provide comprehensive coverage for indoor zones, such as corporate boxes or VIP areas. The solution supports major network technologies and is designed to be easy to upgrade from 4G to 5G new radio (NR). It includes indoor small cells that deliver a consistent 5G user experience with high data rates across multiple zones. Optus has deployed Nokia’s 5G indoor and outdoor radio system and reported peak speeds of 1.1 Gbps downlink and 100 Mbps uplink for lightning-fast 5G coverage throughout Optus Stadium.

5G enables real-time care in UK. The 5G-connected ambulance provides an innovative new way to connect patients, ambulance workers, and remote medical experts in real time, thanks to a collaboration between Ericsson, University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB), and King’s College London. Through a live 5G network in Birmingham, managed by BT, healthcare workers have performed the UK’s first remote diagnostic procedure over 5G. The demonstration showcases how 5G technology can enable clinicians and paramedics to collaborate haptically, even when they are miles apart. This revolutionary use of 5G has the potential to transform how future healthcare is delivered, enabling crucial efficiencies and reducing the need for some patients to visit A&E.

Lufthansa Technik’s virtual table inspection. Leading technical aircraft services provider Lufthansa Technik brought Nokia 5G private wireless networking into full-time commercial deployment at its facility in Hamburg, Germany.

5G networking has enabled Lufthansa Technik to provide virtual engine parts inspection for its civil aviation customers over fast, high-definition video links. Guiding customers directly through the engine shop via images, generated by a 5G-enabled mobile device, Lufthansa Technik’s virtual table inspection (VTI) has allowed customers to remotely attend engine parts inspections, without travelling to its Hamburg facility.

Over a video stream, customers communicate in real time with engine mechanics performing maintenance work. Dismantled parts are jointly inspected on screen in high-resolution, enabling appropriate order decisions to be made. VTI has now been integrated into Lufthansa Technik’s digital AVIATAR technical aircraft fleet-management solution.

The network is based on Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) 5G SA. Nokia DAC is an application platform providing high-bandwidth, low-latency, hyper-fast private wireless connectivity and local edge computing, which provides digitization enablers.
In Germany, private network licenses have been taken by telcos, including T-Systems of Deutsche Telecom, Verizon Germany, LS Telecom, and Telefonica.

Closer home, Vodafone Idea has demonstrated how startups, enterprises, and government can come together with telecom operators to have very compelling use cases around citizens safety, surveillance, telemedicine, distance education tools, smart agriculture, etc. The telco has been testing a range of 5G user cases in Pune, Maharashtra, and Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The 5G use cases are meant for both enterprises and consumers. It has partnered up with Ericsson and Nokia, along with Indian startups and ecosystem players, including Tweek Labs, L&T Smart World & Communication, Athonet, and Vizzbee.

In a key step to find use cases that can be monetized, Reliance Jio has undertaken trial runs of over 25 applications on its indigenously developed 5G standalone core and new radio.

Bharti Airtel and Tech Mahindra are co-developing and marketing 5G use cases in India, besides setting up a joint 5G innovation lab for developing Make in India use cases for the Indian and global markets. The companies are jointly developing and marketing innovative enterprise-grade digital solutions across 5G, cloud, content delivery networks, and are also bringing to market customized enterprise-grade private networks, which will be at the core of the digital economy. They are initially focusing on segments, such as automobiles, aviation, ports, utilities, chemicals, oil and gas, and would expand to other industries going forward.

5G is a priority technology for 80 percent of the Indian enterprises, according to a study by Deloitte India. Around 98 percent of Indian executives believe that 5G and/or Wi-Fi 6 will transform their businesses in the next five years, while 88 percent feel that the transformation will occur within the next three years. 5G is preferred by 53 percent of executives for outdoor use cases. And, around 39 percent of Indian enterprises are expected to invest around USD 10 million to USD 50 million for wireless technology enhancement in their organizations.

Investment in 5G is critical to unlock the next level of growth for Indian enterprises and new use cases are expected to emerge across industries over time, creating more value and ROI for telecom operators. Further, since 5G is all about better connectivity, private 5G network deployment by enterprises is also expected to pick up pace over the coming years. However, the adoption has been slow and more viable user cases need to emerge, if we have to go full throttle with 5G!