This summer we got 5G wireless internet service to our (very) rural home, where previously the only option was satellite internet. You might think, I have satellite TV it’s great so what’s the problem? If you’re old enough to remember dial-up connections, well that’s about what you get with satellite internet – oh and it’s quite expensive (about 4x the cost of wireless).

So, when offered the opportunity to host a 5G panel talking about the impact of this technology I thought, “Yes. I’ve got a story to tell from my own experience.” What I quickly learned is that my individual story pales in comparison to the endless applications for business.

How much does 5G really offer? Too much to summarize here for sure, but you can access the full discussion to hear from our panel experts.

In the opening 5 minutes of the panel, you’ll hear a list of applications, many of which have real and practical impact on daily life. I won’t attempt to unpack everything, but I want to mention a couple of highlights.

The 4th Industrial Revolution

As you know this represents a fundamental change in the way we work, and in many cases the way we live. 5G speeds are up to 10x of the previous 4th generation of wireless, providing greater conveniences on a personal level and greater connectivity when it comes to business. When you add edge computing capabilities to this, which is what Dell + Verizon brings to business, you bring the speed of a 5G network anywhere.

As is mentioned in the discussion, this goes beyond higher data rates, it changes how machines connect and enables faster decision making – saving costs and often providing greater safety for employees. It also provides the flexibility of having a more options when it comes to manufacturing and warehouse locations, just to name a couple of benefits.

Endless Applications

Smart cities, smart venues (think stadiums), extended supply chains, manufacturing sites, hospitals, and so many other types of use cases will now be able to use all the data collected at the edge for artificial intelligence and machine learning – bringing huge benefits in terms of gaining insights and creating actionable intelligence. The number of benefits almost match the number of applications, but a couple that stuck out for me include:

• Farmers being able to use 5G to keep track of crop yield to ensure their product makes it to market without spoilage all done via an end-to-end view of their supply chain.
• Predictive maintenance of utilities in areas that were previously not covered because the network was not available or using robotic services drones for such maintenance applications.

Of course, there were many more than these, so I recommend you check out the full discussion. The experts on the panel with whom I had the pleasure of speaking included:

• Christian Guirnalda, Head of 5G Labs from Verizon
• Hanna Tong, Product Management Lead for Dell’s Service Edge
• Bill Clark, VP, Innovation Strategy, SAP Mobile Engineering.

A huge thank you to these experts for the discussion and teaching me about 5G.