5G Small Cells for Connected Industries

Benefits, Challenges, and Opportunities, Discussed by IDTechEx

BOSTON, Sept. 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A fully digitalized and connected world was unimaginable for us a couple of years ago. However, thanks to the development of 5G, this vision is in sight. 5G is a collection of optimized and updated mobile communication technologies and new characteristics coming from the change of frequency: 4G (<3 GHz) à 5G sub-6 (3.5 – 7 GHz) and mmWave (>24 GHz). Together with new technological advancements such as network slicing and edge computing, 5G provides much larger bandwidth, lower latency, higher reliability, and more connections in comparison to the previous cellular generations.

In the first phase of 5G development, the focus is still on the business-to-consumer (B2C) market. We've seen telecom operators worldwide actively installing 5G macro base stations to provide networks with high capacity for consumers using mobile devices over the past two years. This trend will continue but will not stop here. The blue ocean of the 5G market lies in the business-to-business (B2B) segment. With high data throughput and ultralow latency, 5G can tap into many high-value areas including 3D robotic control and virtual reality monitoring, areas that previous technologies were not able to address. In the future, IDTechEx expect to see many industries such as manufacturing and logistics be redefined and reshaped by 5G.

5G small cells will play an essential role in 5G networks for connected industries. Small cells, with the characteristics of easier deployment and cheaper costs compared to macro base stations, have been utilized for enterprise purposes back in the 3G era. Since 2016, over 1 million small cells have been shipped for enterprise purposes each year. Nevertheless, compared to how many connections are achieved via wired connections, cellular wireless networks still have huge room to grow. Take Industry 4.0 as an example, most connections are achieved via ethernet (46%), wireless networks in industry 4.0 Internet-of-Things (IoT) nowadays only take up 6%. One of the bottlenecks is that flexible manufacturing systems are still not prevalent. Other challenges include the lack of feature support in device components and performance validation. Regardless, 5G development is driving demand towards wireless networks. IDTechEx forecasts that there will be around 45 million 5G small cells deployed by the end of 2031, for more information, see the IDTechEx latest publication, "5G Small Cells 2021-2031: Technologies, Markets, Forecasts".