On June 25, 2021, the InDiCo project and IET India, in partnership with ETSI and TSDSI, brought together 150 attendees from more than a dozen countries in a digital conversation on the use cases of mobile connectivity leveraging 5G technologies, with a specific focus on the huge potential in India.

5G is set to deliver increased operational performance, increased spectral efficiency, higher data rates and lower latency. And with that superior user experience. The impact of the technology will extend far beyond conventional cellular applications. The speakers in this digital conversation represented the various sectors which are currently considering the disruptive potential and practical applicability of 5G, with a wide variety of use case emerging across healthcare, industrial automation, agriculture, mobility (intelligent transport system, green evolution, railway) and security.

01-07-2021.jpg

Specific use cases were highlighted by the George Institute of Global Health, where 5G can play an impactful role in the delivery of healthcare in India. Virtual care platforms are in development that will allow people, especially in remote rural areas, to manage serious or chronic conditions in their homes, utilizing remote sensors and remote diagnostic tools.

It is anticipated by the 5G – Alliance for Connected Industry and Automation (5G-ACIA) that 5G will play a significant role in helping factories of the future enable more user-accessible technology, the optimisation of processes and increased productivity and efficiency. 5G will be a key enabler for using Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in an economic manner, helping with asset tracking and building more flexible factories.

It was also pointed out that, in order for these use cases to reach the plant floor in 2022, adequate testing and development environments need to be available, such as in the new 5G Lab for Industries of Capgemini in Mumbai.

Use cases in agriculture were highlighted by John Deere, which is investing considerable resources in understanding how 5G technology can provide precision agriculture, with smarter equipment that allows for better decision making. Use cases in agriculture include in-field data-sharing for planters to communicate in real-time on exactly where they have planted, remote access display enabling equipment dealers to adjust and optimize equipment based on conditions, and near-real-time monitoring allowing farm managers to have operational overview of what is happening in the field.

The 5G – Infrastructure Association presented an overview of vertical application developments and confirmed the compelling benefits which can be derived from 5G-enabled Healthcare applications. Transportation systems will also see a dramatic improvement with the rollout of 5G, with smart connectivity enabling more efficient movement of people and goods, a reduction in fuel consumption and optimized daily traffic flows, with data delivered in real time.

In all sectors, the higher bandwidth and speed of 5G will allow for more contextual data, true real-time monitoring and critical cloud-based AI assistance that can help with optimizations of services and applications. 5G is enabling an avalanche of data and will work in tandem with other technologies, with an important role for edge computing.

We would have hoped for this inspiring Digital Conversation never to end, so that further information about these promising use cases could be exchanged. You may view the replay of the video recording of this 90 minutes long online event below.