The Internet of Things is becoming a new-generation business infrastructure across industries and countries, and is expected to become the largest investment opportunity in the ICT sector over the next 30 years. At the network layer of IoT, the commercialization of 5G and the momentum behind WiFi 6 are driving continuous upgrades to communications networks, which in turn is accelerating IoT adoption in a number of sectors. According to analysis, 5G empowers the expansion of the IoT industry through the following three major application scenarios:
First, enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB). Compared with 4G, 5G can reach a peak downlink rate of 20 Gbps and a peak uplink rate that may exceed 10 Gbps. This all-round improvement in network speed supports the rollout of high-bandwidth services such as cloud VR, real-time streaming, and security surveillance.
Second, ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (uRLLC). 5G supports a single-direction air-interface latency as low as 1 ms and 99.999% reliability in high-speed mobility scenarios. This ultra-low-latency capability can provide safer, more reliable network connectivity for the scheduling of sensitive operations in vertical industries such as connected vehicles, industrial control, and smart grids, and especially for real-world applications of autonomous driving.
Third, massive Machine-Type Communication (mMTC). 5G networks can deliver million-level connection density per square kilometer along with multiple connection modes, making intelligent interconnection between people and everything a reality. In particular, by providing capabilities such as network slicing and edge computing for enterprise users or smart devices, 5G is driving the deployment of wide-connection applications such as smart cities and smart homes/buildings.
