Who Will Lead the 5G Race In 2019? The rollout of 5G network will have a major impact on every aspect of our digital world and global economy

The 5g wave is rising thanks to smartphone makers that are leading the adoption of this technology. Also known as fifth generation wireless, the technology succeeds the 4G, 3G and 2G systems. 5G performance is driven by characteristics like high data rate, reduced latency, energy saving, cost reduction, higher system capacity, and massive device connectivity. Research firm Analysys Mason ranked countries on their 5G readiness this year. The findings show that China, South Korea, the U.S., Japan, Germany, the U.K., France, Canada, Russia and Singapore are the top ten countries in the 5G list. The rollout of the 5G network will have a major impact on every aspect of our digital world and global economy. Now it will be interesting to see which countries are ready for a 5G future.

The Beginning of Revolution

According to 2018 global mobility report by Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson, 5G will reach more than 40 per cent global population coverage and 1.5 billion subscriptions for enhanced mobile broadband by the end of 2024, making it the fastest generation ever to be rolled out on a global scale.

The report emphasizes that 2019 will be the year that 5G takes off. 5G networks are currently being deployed in several regions worldwide and commercial launches are already taking place. One of the first 5G use cases will be fixed wireless access, as devices with form factors suitable for customer premises equipment will be early to the market, and will not have the stringent size, weight and power consumption requirements that come with smartphones, the report adds.

The 5G Race

5G technology made plenty of headlines this week. Last week Xiaomi President Lin Bin shared the image of the company's flagship device Mi Mix 3 running on 5G version. The picture was later retweeted by Donovan Sung, Xiaomi's Director of Product Management, and it said "We've successfully tested 5G data connections on Xiaomi phones, and we can't wait for the official rollout of 5G next year!…. 5G download speeds are more than 10X faster than 4G speeds. What's everyone looking forward to the most?" The company also confirmed that Mi Mix 3 will be one of the first 5G smartphones.

However, it seems that US-based chipmaker Qualcomm will take the cake this time in the 5G space. At its third annual Snapdragon Tech Summit on December 4th, the company will feature a number of announcements of industry milestones on the path to the commercialization of 5G in 2019.

"This year's announcements will span across three days, include collaborations with several major industry leaders that will solidify our path to 5G commercialization, and change the way we use mobile devices in 2019 and beyond, creating a truly global moment for customers and tech enthusiasts around the world watching via the livestream,"said Cristiano Amon, president, Qualcomm Incorporated. The company is one of the leading players leading the 5G revolution in the world.

Telecom company AT&T is also not behind in the race. The Dallas-based company has made big promises to bring both a standards-based mobile 5G network and a mobile 5G device to its customers by the end of 2018. As a part of the 5G deployment, the carrier announced its plan to bring 5G service to 12 cities this year, reaching at least 19 cities in early 2019.

Japanese automotive giant Toyota Motor Corp. is also not shying away from investing in 5G technology. In partnership with Japanese mobile carrier NTT Docomo, Toyota recently announced that they have successfully controlled the T-HR3 robot in trials using 5G under a test environment with control from a remote location (a distance of approximately 10 kilometres) in an area between two points. The company developed the robot with the aim of creating a partner robot that can safely support human activities in a variety of circumstances, such as homes and healthcare institutions.