Time for businesses to go beyond WiFi and connect to private 5G

When businesses rely on WiFi, they are at risk of not being able to make fast and accurate decisions in critical situations given its higher latency, meaning data is transferred and received slower than other types of connection. This risk can be eliminated if companies adopt a private 5G connection.

According to John Lombard, CEO, Asia Pacific, NTT Ltd., a private 5G network allows for loads of information or data from different IoT devices to be “collected at the edge” or be processed in real-time—a feature which they said a WiFi network is “not cut” to do.

“It’s ultra-high bandwidth, super-low latency, and really ensuring that decisions can be made at the edge in real-time,” Lombard told Asian Telecom.

Given that a private 5G network allows for real-time processing of data and thus faster decision-making, adopting such technology can make “any organisation more competitive and invite multiple opportunities to their business,” said Lombard.

“The success and savings derived from these benefits will then ripple out to the rest of the organisation, all the way to the customer,” Lombard added.

Another feature of a private 5G which is sought after by businesses is network security, which seven in 10 executives surveyed by research and insight provider, Economist Impact, said is not being provided by current connectivity and communications platforms.

Economist Impact added that a private 5G network can also provide “coverage in strategic locations, both indoors or outdoors, such as at manufacturing plants or ports” as well as “spaces with metal obstructions.”

“In contrast with relying on public mobile networks, access is limited to authorised devices, which not only allows for improved security standards but also limits network saturation, benefitting performance and reliability,” added the company.

Reaping the benefits

For companies to reap the benefits of a private 5G network, Lombard said they should undergo a mindset shift and be really “eager” to adopt new solutions.

Lombard cited that several companies are still adamant to adopt a private 5G network given challenges such as infrastructure complexity and lack of technical skills and expertise available to deploy the technology.

For 44% of businesses, the main challenge in implementing a private 5G network is how to integrate it with their legacy systems and networks.

COMMUNICATIONS GROUP CO., LTD