The death of Wi-Fi
by Andrew Yeong, Tata Communications VP of APAC
With the emergence of 5G, will there still be a demand and need for Wi-Fi?
While many will claim they can’t live without the Internet, is it possible to live without Wi-Fi? Wi-Fi is widely used in most Singaporean households and workplaces, but recent years have seen more Singaporeans cutting the cord and opting for mobile data. Despite the availability of free public Wi-Fi hot spots under the Wireless@SG government programme, mobile data reliance continues to climb. Fuelled by the demand for greater mobility and convenience, Singaporeans use an average of 2.78 GB on mobile data a month, and as a country, they use a total of 185 GB by mobile data per year.
Singapore is an early adopter of 3G and 4G, reaching 100% penetration in 2017, and is now ready for a high-speed upgrade and taking active steps towards its 5G aspirations. The Minister for Communications and Information, S Iswaran, previously announced that half of Singapore will be covered by 5G at the end of 2022. To align with the country’s plans, telco operators have started to collaborate with firms on trials. It seems that all the puzzle pieces are coming together to make Singapore a 5G nation.
With global 5G subscriptions expected to hit 1.5 billion in the next five years, smaller and wealthier countries like Singapore and Japan are likely going to lead the way as these countries are already tech-forward nations and their geography also means they can blanket the country without bankrupting themselves. Mass adoption of 5G in Singapore may also be accelerated due to its diplomatic and pragmatic stance amidst the geopolitical discussion.
5G is poised to positively impact different sectors, such as entertainment, healthcare and education, in a way that Wi-Fi cannot. 5G can reach zero latency associated with mobile connectivity to something that is very close to the speed of a human brain and human reaction times, while the lowest latency that Wi-Fi can reach is 30 ms. With these benefits that come along with the implementation of 5G, there could be a sizeable impact.
From a business perspective, the implementation of 5G could herald the death of Wi-Fi. 5G fundamentally changes the enterprise topology and if service levels can be guaranteed, users will no longer need to wire the enterprise. The potential of 5G will not be limited to technological advancements as it will continue to revolutionise important sectors in society.
That said, this will not happen overnight. Enterprises looking to replace Wi-Fi local area networks (LANs) will require customer-premise equipment deployments over time. This will lead to an expected period of coexistence between 5G and Wi-Fi. Fortunately, some of the network management capabilities of 5G are already designed to manage heterogenous networks better (combinations of cellular licenses, unlicensed and Wi-Fi access) which will support a smoother transition.
In the long run, companies will need to consider how they manage the legacy of their Wi-Fi systems and explore cybersecurity in the new wild world of 5G as the age of Wi-Fi comes to an end.
With the emergence of 5G, will there still be a demand and need for Wi-Fi?
While many will claim they can’t live without the Internet, is it possible to live without Wi-Fi? Wi-Fi is widely used in most Singaporean households and workplaces, but recent years have seen more Singaporeans cutting the cord and opting for mobile data. Despite the availability of free public Wi-Fi hot spots under the Wireless@SG government programme, mobile data reliance continues to climb. Fuelled by the demand for greater mobility and convenience, Singaporeans use an average of 2.78 GB on mobile data a month, and as a country, they use a total of 185 GB by mobile data per year.
Singapore is an early adopter of 3G and 4G, reaching 100% penetration in 2017, and is now ready for a high-speed upgrade and taking active steps towards its 5G aspirations. The Minister for Communications and Information, S Iswaran, previously announced that half of Singapore will be covered by 5G at the end of 2022. To align with the country’s plans, telco operators have started to collaborate with firms on trials. It seems that all the puzzle pieces are coming together to make Singapore a 5G nation.
With global 5G subscriptions expected to hit 1.5 billion in the next five years, smaller and wealthier countries like Singapore and Japan are likely going to lead the way as these countries are already tech-forward nations and their geography also means they can blanket the country without bankrupting themselves. Mass adoption of 5G in Singapore may also be accelerated due to its diplomatic and pragmatic stance amidst the geopolitical discussion.
5G is poised to positively impact different sectors, such as entertainment, healthcare and education, in a way that Wi-Fi cannot. 5G can reach zero latency associated with mobile connectivity to something that is very close to the speed of a human brain and human reaction times, while the lowest latency that Wi-Fi can reach is 30 ms. With these benefits that come along with the implementation of 5G, there could be a sizeable impact.
From a business perspective, the implementation of 5G could herald the death of Wi-Fi. 5G fundamentally changes the enterprise topology and if service levels can be guaranteed, users will no longer need to wire the enterprise. The potential of 5G will not be limited to technological advancements as it will continue to revolutionise important sectors in society.
That said, this will not happen overnight. Enterprises looking to replace Wi-Fi local area networks (LANs) will require customer-premise equipment deployments over time. This will lead to an expected period of coexistence between 5G and Wi-Fi. Fortunately, some of the network management capabilities of 5G are already designed to manage heterogenous networks better (combinations of cellular licenses, unlicensed and Wi-Fi access) which will support a smoother transition.
In the long run, companies will need to consider how they manage the legacy of their Wi-Fi systems and explore cybersecurity in the new wild world of 5G as the age of Wi-Fi comes to an end.
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