CBA Newsletter January 2020

5Ghasbeenpartofconversationsforquiteawhilenow,especiallywithregardstoHuawei’sdevelopmentsinthis areaaswellasit’shugepotentialtoinfluencefuturetechnology.TheCEO ofEricssonalsojustrecentlytalked aboutit’sleadingpositionduringtheWorldEconomicForum inDavos,Switzerland.Butafterayearorsoofso muchhypearound5G,howmuchofithasactuallybeendevelopedandimplementedsofar?Andwhatcanwe expectinthefuture?TheCurrentBusinessAffairsNewsletter(JanuaryIssue)ofTheBusinessStudents'Union, HKUSTSUisgettingacloserlookonthetopic. W hatis5G? W hatcanwedowithit? 5G inasimpledescriptionisthefifthgenerationof Toatypicalconsumer,themostobvioususeforfaster wirelessnetworkingtechnology.Thefirstimplicationof networkspeedswould beforstreamingmedia,but newernetworkingtechnologythatcomestomindto manypeopleareexpecting5Gtohaveothergreatuses, mostofuswouldbegreaternetworkingspeeds.This suchascreatingautonomoussmartvehicles.Thisisdue wouldgreatlyimprovetheperformanceofstreaming to the low latency which would allow vehiclesto services,videocallingandcloudfile-sharingservices. communicate with each otherinstantly.5G would Notonlydoes5Gbringgreaternetworkingspeeds,but enable smart vehicles to immediately receive italsoboastslowerlatency,whichmeansthatitwill informationabouttheirsurroundings;forexample,an takelesstimeforonegadgettotalktoanother. approachingvehicleorredlight,thusallowingasmart vehicletobrakeinresponse. But different telecom companies are developing different5Gversionswhicharecategorizedaslow,mid 5G mayalso beused in factoriesto help improve andmmWavehigh-band5G.Theyalldifferintermsof automatedproductionmachinery.Thiscanincreasethe speedandcoverage,wherelow-band5G hasgreater useofautomatedrobotsinmanufacturing,whichin coveragebutslowerspeedswhilsthigh-band5Ghasthe turncanimproveefficiencyandcutcosts.Thisisseen smallestcoverage butfaster speeds.According to byindividualslikeElonMuskactivelypushingtheuse Qualcomm,5Gisexpectedtodeliverpeakdataratesup ofrobotsinthemanufacturingprocessofTeslavehicles. to20Gbps.Sofar,Verizon’s5GnetworkinMinneapolis Many companies are also attempting to bring andChicagoisalreadydeliveringspeedsinexcessof automation toconsumerhomes,suchastheuseof 1Gbps,whichisabout30timesthespeedyoumightget robotic arms preparing food in kitchens we see inalargecitywith4GLTE. circulatingtheinternet.With5Gwecanbesuretosee greateradvancementsinautomationinfactoriesand ourhomes.

Anotherconsumerbasethatwouldgreatlybenefitfrom W illittrulyliveuptothehype? low-latencyaregamers.Thelow-latencywillenhancethe gaming experience,especially with game streaming Theactualimpactof5Gonourlivesisstilldebatable, servicesthatarebeingintroduced,suchasStadiafrom asalloftheapplicationsmentionedaboveareonly Google. conceptsorinitsearlydevelopmentstages.Wedo, Butwhatarethedownsides? however,seedrasticimprovementsinnetworkspeeds whereithasbeenimplemented.Soforthemeantime, we’lljusthavetosettlewithasmalltasteofwhat5G Oneofthemanyissueswith5Gisitscoverage.mmWave hastooffer.Ifyoufindyourselfimpatienttotrying high-band5G(whichhasthesmallestcoverage)willmost outself-drivingvehiclesandhavingautomatedrobots likelyonlybeimplementedindenselypopulatedareas inyourhouse,I’m afraidyou’llhavetowait. suchasstadiumsandarenas.Otherareaswillonlyreceive mid-bandandlow-band5G,butdespitethis,itwillstillbe YourFeedback…… betterthan 4G LTE servicesthatwecurrentlyhave. Smallercoverageof5G,ingeneral,alsoleadtoanissue YourfeedbackwillhelpalottoimproveourCBA withbuildingthenecessaryinfrastructure.Tobuildall Newsletter,ifyouhaveanyenquiriesorsuggestions, the5G towersnecessary,itwillrequiretime,andthe please do nothesitate to contactThe Executive governmentisexpectingtohave5G servicesrolledout Committee of the Union through email by andfullylaunchedinHongKongin2020. su_bsu@stu.ust.hk,orbymailtoMailbox#15,LG5 StudentAmenities,The Hong Kong University of AnotherissueisthatmmWavesignalsarefarmore ScienceandTechnology,ClearWaterBay,Kowloon, susceptibletophysicalbarriers.Themaximum rangeof HK. highband5G antennasis1.6km,however,buildingsin urbanenvironmentscanobstructitandreduceitdownto 1km.Moreover,certaintypesofglassandwallscansnuff outmmWavesignalsaltogether.