5G wireless technology continues to evolve and gain traction with users.
Last week, I attended one of the most important conferences in the wireless industry: the annual Americas 5G Summit, held in Dallas, Texas, every October. I have been participating in this unique event for over ten years. It is the industry group representing America’s carriers and telecom industry and one of the critical forces driving next-generation wireless trends and standards.
5G Americas is an industry trade organization focused on advancing LTE and 5G wireless technologies across the Americas. It includes leading providers and manufacturers of telecommunications services, aiming to develop a wirelessly connected community and lead the development of 5G in the region.
This organization creates white papers on spectrum, standards and all the related issues needed to launch 3G, 4G, 5G and the latest version 5G Advanced which will be released this fall. His work is essential to the growth and direction of all wireless technologies that become the heart of this and next generation standards.
This chart shows the generative evolution of mobile networks:
Evolution of mobile networks
While the conference is highly technical, it also focuses on the role of wireless in business, enterprise, manufacturing and consumers.
We are currently six years into 5G. Almost all mobile phones in the US, Canada and parts of Latin America have moved to 5G, although some countries in this region remain on LTE and move slowly to 5G.
A big focus of this year’s 5G America was the transition from 5G to 5G Advanced. This step is the next significant evolution of 5G before the eventual transition to 6G sometime later this decade.
5G Advanced (also known as 5.5G) is the name for 3GPP version 18, which will begin appearing in commercial products this fall.
Some of the new capabilities released in 5G Advanced are higher speed for VR gaming, extended coverage, 70% lower cost through lower power consumption, more accurate positioning, elastic timing so GPS is not required indoors, network operation efficiency, improved side connection that meets public safety needs, possible side connections to XR devices and reliability up to 99.9%. It also supports current 5G speeds up to 10 GPS.
In short, 5G Advanced features significant improvements in performance and capability and supports higher bandwidth, lower latency and higher reliability.
The second big focus of America’s 5G is the impact and role AI will play in wireless networks. Last year’s 5G Americas took place two weeks before OpenAI dropped its AI generation bomb, which forced all companies and industries to rush to integrate AI into their business processes.
Consequently, this year’s conference focused on the impact and role AI will play in the telecom and wireless industry. This industry is working hard to understand the role of AI in current and future wireless networks and mobile devices.
A key topic discussed is how AI will be used to help manage wireless networks. Telecom executives at the conference showed how they are already using AI to manage their end-to-end networks and are working to use AI from the cloud to edge devices across the board.
The broader vision is moving from cloud-native to AI-native, with AI embedded in every network in one form or another.
Telecom executives intend to incorporate this technology into their network planning strategies. In addition, they discussed the application of artificial intelligence in the design of wireless networks. This technology will also be used for operator management, facilitating the creation of a digital twin network as an integral component of the design process.
Like most industries, integrating AI into their businesses is a priority, and the telecom and mobile industry is working hard to bring AI into every aspect of its world.
Another topic surprised some of us: the role of integrating NTNs (non-terrestrial networks) or satellites into traditional mobile businesses.
In September, Elon Musk confirmed that TMobile will have exclusive rights to Starlink mobile internet for a year. Apple has partnered with satellite provider Globalstar Inc. to provide texting services, which were recently critical for victims of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, to contact family when they lost power and cell service.
While the integration of satellite services within mobile networks is currently focused only on SOS and text messaging, satellite voice calls may soon become an additional feature. This upcoming innovation may only be relevant to those who are often out of coverage of traditional wireless networks or need it in critical or life-saving situations. But still, it could potentially allow carriers to one day boast “anytime, anywhere wireless.”
Disclosure: Apple agrees in Creative Strategies research reports along with many other high-tech companies around the world.