LTE, 3G, and 4g: specs that are often thrown around by tech companies to describe their networks and mobile devices. Oftentimes these phrases are being used purely as marketing tactics, without the end user having a true understanding of the technology. With each new network generation, more people actually understand what the ‘g’ stands for in 3 or 4g. Better and faster network capabilities appear to become more available with time, and now that we’ve cracked the code on 4G LTE devices like your iPhone, technology enthusiasts are already looking to future networks.
Bloomberg.com sat down with Eriksson’s CTO, Ulf Ewaldsson, to discuss the company’s investment in 5G technology. Ewaldsson envisions a world that would include the interconnectivity of all devices—not just smartphones. As he told Bloomberg.com:
“I think what we see is with communication is going beyond just smartphones, [going] beyond just the user experience. but [things like] inter machine to machine communication, new areas. And then we would like to see the whole network change in a way that we can really facilitate these things in reality.”
Ewaldsson imagines this interconnectivity would include things like allowing your thermostat to communicate with phone or car, so the temperature would be just right when you reach home, or having cars drive completely unmanned at speeds upwards of 60 MPH.
“You can see it already in hollywood movies.” Ewaldsson says. “I think the most important thing is the performance. That is what the 5g is about. To get the superior performance that would allow us to do remote surgery over the next generation systems or allow us to drive the car more than 120 miles of — that is not allowed — 60 miles an hour down the road, and remotely.”
Although 5G technology is a few years out – Ewaldsson doesn’t see it happening until after 2020 – it’s definitely a step in the right direction. A 5G network of this magnitude would not just improve our gadgets, it would improve our quality of life, and isn’t that what technology is supposed to do?
