The widespread availability of 5G offers enormous opportunities in the private and public sectors. But what specific possibilities does this open up?
Cities and metropolises are growing steadily, and with them, the need for sustainable solutions for metropolitan areas. Ensuring urban mobility and security, medical care for the population, and energy-efficient operation and air quality are just a few examples of the series of future challenges.
To counter these, innovative approaches to solutions converge under the term “Smart City”, with which cities can deal with complex problems. But: To date, there has been neither a uniform definition nor a generally applicable strategy for the term “smart cities”. The focus is on using a shared digital infrastructure in which actors and services can exchange information in an automated and data-driven manner.
Many cities are already supporting smart city initiatives by collecting and evaluating relevant data – all through today’s wireless networks. With the development of 5G networks, however, new opportunities are opening up for networked cities in Germany: According to Telekom’s plans, 90 percent of Germany’s area should have 5G coverage by 2025. Under good conditions, 5G technology can offer a data rate up to 100 times faster than LTE – making it the next-generation cellular standard. In addition, data transmission with a latency of a few milliseconds and with high stability and reliability is possible.
Smart city applications that are not yet conceivable today may well become a reality in the future: These include, for example, Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC) and Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC). eMBB is an application with a very high data volume that is used for Ultra HD videos, for example. In the future, they will support virtual visits to authorities, mobile virtual reality medicine or augmented urban reality.Applications that require a large number of constantly networked devices fall under the term mMTC.
These applications will be of interest in the future for environmental and traffic data sensors, infrastructure diagnostics, logistics, and location tracking. URLLC applications are necessary for real-time broadcasts and constant reliability. These applications will become particularly relevant for automated driving and topics such as remote surgery or smart grids. What still sounds like a dream of the future today can become a reality with the help of 5G: Because 5G supports a higher density of end devices and sensors per radio cell than LTE.
There is great potential in urban traffic management in particular: the urban traffic infrastructure is regulated more efficiently through data collection in private cars and, in combination, through automated vehicles. Traffic jams, closures and the like are thus managed more easily. There is also the chance of intelligent public transport that can automatically complete individual routes. Emergency services from ambulances, fire brigades and police, can access data from the central traffic management when necessary and use technologies such as facial recognition during operations.
The future of cities and how the many opportunities of 5G will influence the cityscape are among many topics focusing on Hypermotion Frankfurt (14-16 September 2021) and Hypermotion Dubai (02-04 November 2021). At the trade fairs, the exhibitors show special applications and solutions covering all aspects of intelligent transport systems and data flows in the city. Here, entrepreneurs discuss their visions in mobility and logistics with experts and an interested audience. Be part of it!
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