Time for a 5G Technology Assessment and Road Map? [President's Column]

摘要

Perhaps what many of us find most exciting are the outlines of next-generation (5G) application spaces that would be feasible if we could unlock the great open spaces in the millimeter-wave (mmW) bands for mobile communications, allowing real-time transfer of not only conventional data but also high-definition video and haptic (tactile and kinesthetic) information on millisecond time scales. Those spaces include applications in augmented reality, which relies on telecommunications to transfer high-definition video to a server where it is processed, augmented, and then sent back to the user in real time. The automotive industry is not just betting on systems that allow cars to negotiate the streets based on sensing the immediate surroundings; they envision globally aware autonomous automobiles that leverage immediate feedback from all the surrounding autonomous systems to maximize throughput and increase speeds, while driving more closely together and more safely than human drivers or their locally aware counterparts. And, of course, the public safety and other sectors are eagerly awaiting advances in communications that will allow robots to transfer not only real-time, high-definition video but haptic feedback as they fight fires, safely perform surgery, and carry out other functions to protect their human counterparts in the field. These applications are expected to create a US$3 trillion per year global market, and the companies and countries that can successfully unlock the mmW spectrum will immediately gain a critical advantage in deployment over their competitors.