Since the inception of wireless technology, much of the discussion or debates are centred around introducing revolutionary capabilities and next generation of existing wireless networks. The ever-evolving scenario of wireless connectivity and increased adoption of telecommuting have many organisations rethinking their network strategies.
Now with the latest cellular network standard – 5G and next-generation of Wireless Fidelity – Wi-Fi 6 in place, the landscape of mobility has shifted to a new digital paradigm.
5G and Wi-Fi 6 — Hype or Hope?
Before making any assumptions and believing all the hypes surrounding 5G and Wi-Fi 6, it is essential to understand their true potential and real-world impact.
You should know that both 5G and Wi-Fi 6 have emerged from the same technical foundation and are designed for rendering high throughput, high network capacity and low latency wireless connections.
Their ability to provide higher bandwidth and data rates (high data transmission speed) will bring new use cases into play. They will also accommodate more connected devices and users than the current generation wireless network standards.
For IoT industry, there is an underlying promise of leveraging 5G technology and Wi-Fi 6 connectivity at scale.
According to IDC, “there will be around 152,200 IoT connected devices per minute by 2025.”
In co-existence, both of them will deliver highly reliable performance and support traffic explosion, enabling your mobile workforce to drive business operations from anywhere.
Revolutionising connectivity with 5G and Wi-Fi 6 — a mobile-first world
So, what do 5G and Wi-Fi 6 hold for businesses, especially Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) other than getting rid of inflexible wired connections?
The stark reality of Wi-Fi 6 implementation for SMEs is that they will transform their digital experiences and landscape. Its ubiquitous, robust nature not only expands possibilities of leveraging big data analytics, edge computing and artificial intelligence (AI) but is also set to enable their businesses with a powerful, more secure network infrastructure. Furthermore, the emergence of 5G will drive a range of opportunities for innovation-driven use cases such as process automation, virtual and augmented reality, IoT connected devices, cobots (or collaborative robots), and more. By unlocking such potential, businesses can deliver instant digital offerings and immersive experience to their customers.
Built and optimised for global coverage (capable of reaching every corner, every quarter of the world), 5G spectrum will provide an uninterrupted remote workstyle, thus allowing SMEs to cut down their operational overheads and on-site staff.
We can infer that organisations across all industries are going to witness a dramatic rise in the digitisation opportunities with the convergence of 5G and Wi-Fi 6 in the upcoming years. Hence, co-adopting both the communication technologies is going to be a revolutionary game-changer for SMEs. How can your business be prepared for this disruption transformation?
Like it or not, this digital revolution is happening rapidly. While the incorporation of 5G and Wi-Fi 6 into the existing wireless framework has begun in some countries and sectors, others have already rolled out and deployed the technologies. So, if we look at the bigger picture, businesses should be ready to take the big jump and not fall into the chasm of disruption that is underway.
Another important fact — it is not just about upgrading your network transmitters or protocols but migrating your entire organisation to this new era of connectivity.
Despite the promising uninterrupted performance of 5G and Wi-Fi 6, you need a dedicated team of IT professionals who holds deep expertise in end-to-end network management and can guide you through both transformational and technological roadmaps.
It is worth highlighting that next-generation managed connectivity solutions bring in more than just high speeds and minimal lag time. They are capable of addressing all your wireless demands and deploying new network capabilities without having to worry about management responsibilities.
The beauty of bringing in a technologically advanced managed services provider lies in their ability to drive your business through a successful transformation. At the same time, you can focus on core business processes. LGA’s managed IT solutions for next-generation connectivity and mobility can level up your Infocomm infrastructure while you hold complete control over all your business transactions.
And, the key benefits of having LGA by your side?
Attainment of near ZERO Downtime culture
Simplified communication and networking across branch offices
Redefined performance, increased efficiency, and renewed reliability of wireless networks with 24/7 NSOC monitoring and reporting
Secure, centralised management across cloud, and much more
Bottom Line
Let us give you a real sense of where the future of mobility is heading; 5G and Wi-Fi 6 are the introduction to the new era of seamless wireless accessibility and are here to stay.
Businesses dozing under the rock and failing to embrace this change are likely to get disrupted more so than ever. The ideal move would be not to try and pick a winner between these two wireless technologies but start assessing how they can benefit your organisation.
Choosing the right network partner is crucial and the first step towards kick-starting your transformation journey.