The Rise of 5G: Great Opportunities, Tremendous Challenges

5G has been a hot topic for quite some time now in the telecom industry. Due to a wide range of applications that go beyond “simple” voice—from the growing Internet of Things (IoT) market to device-to-device communication to virtual reality and other real-time applications—5G is becoming critical for addressing operators’ skyrocketing needs for ultra-high reliability, high security, low-latency, and flawless broadband and mobility quality.

What’s more, going beyond seemingly predictable use cases in the IT and entertainment sector, 5G is set to be the enabling platform for many other traditional industries, including the automotive, agriculture and manufacturing.

In other words, 5G’s tremendous opportunities and applications are already generating an extremely wide variation in requirements.

Official 5G specifications are set to be published in mid-2018; however, some major network operators are announcing roll-outs as early as next year. The issue arises that while 5G technologies are moving forward into key markets, operators will face mounting pressure not only to ensure performance levels and interoperability from Day 1 but also that their services are differentiated and commercially viable. In addition, 5G generates an onslaught of new testing challenges that must be addressed from the onset.

EXFO’s latest webinar, Developing 5G: Rough Waters Ahead!, aims at demystifying the opportunities and potential issues network operators will face in the upcoming years with respect to the impending arrival 5G. It also provides compelling insight into virtualization, 5G New Radio and other connectivity options to the core network, which are important to consider before any deployment.