Will 5G remake the world, or just make it a little faster?
The ubiquitous availability of high-speed mobile internet connectivity has substantively changed the world in a short amount of time. Beginning with third-generation (3G) wireless technology, then continuing with 4G and Long-Term Evolution (LTE), consumers and business users can now connect to the internet from virtually anywhere. Ever-increasing coverage, faster data speeds, and advancements in mobile devices have helped spur the smartphone era. Today, nearly 2.5 billion people use smartphones, and 1.2 billion use tablets; 1 more than 175 billion apps were downloaded in 2017 alone. These apps, some of which have over a billion users, 2 have helped transform how we communicate, make and maintain relationships, watch TV and movies, shop, and get from point A to point B. And while the Internet of Things (IoT) is still a developing story, more and more devices, from in-home assistants to vehicles, are connecting to the internet through mobile networks. In 2017, there were 8.4 billion connected devices, and the figure is forecast to reach over 20.4 billion by 2020. 3
In short, the combination of wireless connectivity and smartphones has sparked a global revolution that can affect nearly every aspect of a consumer’s life. Companies face a world in which competitors can scale their offerings to millions of consumers instantly and simultaneously, at relatively little or no cost. These include communications services (such as instant messaging), mobile financial services (such as foreign fund transfers and in-store payments), over-the-top (OTT) media services (such as subscriptions to premium movies and content), location-based services, and an almost endless list of other possibilities.
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