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This article is the first in our two-part blog series on how 5G and the Internet of Things are shaping the way industries do business.
The Internet of Things1 (IoT)—a pervasive ecosystem of internet-connected gadgets that collect and manage data from local environments—may soon be getting an upgrade.
The advent of 5G is expected to transform IoT completely. When both are combined, businesses can experience ultra-fast speeds, lower latency, and better capacity, resulting in a massive change in the interaction between data, technologies, and users.
This kind of synergy can bring a new level of connectivity that eases collaboration and management, and puts more valuable data within reach for multiple industries.
Empowering Production
Manufacturing companies can benefit from integrating 5G's reliable communication and low latency into their IoT-powered production machinery. For example, 5G-enabled factory robots can share data about the manufacturing process in real-time—from load information and repair alerts to supply chain shortages.
Instantaneous data coming from 5G and IoT can help decision-makers act quickly, reducing production downtime and enabling more efficient usage of resources. These effects are crucial as industrial manufacturers are already losing around $50 billion annually2 due to unplanned production downtime—42% of which is caused by an equipment failure. But with 5G-powered manufacturing lines, there is a chance to reduce these inefficiencies drastically.
Adding Artificial Intelligence (AI) and 5G-enabled cobots (also known as collaborative robots) might someday occupy factory operations as well. Cobots, like ABB Group's YuMi, use data gathered from sensors, cameras, and AI to mimic human movement. When combined with a 5G connection, these can be used for repetitive manual labor, boosting workplace productivity by reducing time wasted, eliminating errors, and leaving high-value tasks to humans.
Upgrading Healthcare
Healthcare is starting to invest heavily in IoT. In fact, 60% of healthcare organizations in the world have already incorporated IoT in their facilities.
Intelligent technology3 can now remotely monitor the symptoms of cancer patients. Ingestible sensors can detect and diagnose gastrointestinal problems. Bluetooth-enabled trackers can be used for blood coagulation testing. A closed-loop4 system can automatically deliver insulin to a patient, based on his or her blood sugar levels. Augmented and virtual reality technologies5 can be applied to surgical simulation, diagnostic imaging, patient care, and rehabilitation.
Healthcare professionals can also use IoT and 5G to collect real-time data, enabling them to track the changes in their patients' health and make crucial decisions when needed.
Given the increased capacity offered by 5G and IoT, it is inevitable that both will increasingly be part of the best practices in healthcare moving forward. Remote monitoring, telemedicine, and medical imaging were all once science fiction. Now, 5G and IoT are rapidly becoming a part of everyday life at the hospital.
Transforming Financial Services
An obvious advantage of 5G in the finance industry is its ability to speed up services, which, to customers, can mean instantaneous online transactions. In addition to this, it can also encourage more users to utilize mobile finance applications. This can allow financial institutions to collect more data and create more personalized services. Add machine learning and AI6 to the mix, and a whole range of benefits appear.
For instance, AI, when paired with 5G, can read faster through financial documents. This can tremendously help banks with lending and credit risk assessment, and assist insurance appraisers in approving claims faster. AI-powered chatbots can also help financial institutions in customer management by enabling live assistants to focus on more urgent transactions. 5G and AI together can prevent fraud by quickly tracking, identifying, and flagging potential threats.
As customers evolve in this fast-paced world, they are more likely to lean toward services that offer immediate results through the most convenient and safest channels. There is an increase in demand for real-time online services, especially in the finance industry. With more consumers becoming mobile,7 banks and insurance companies should start being on their toes.
Bringing People to the Future
5G's economic advantage to early adopters cannot be denied. A Qualcomm report8 expects the full economic benefit of 5G to be realized across the world by 2035. By then, 5G mobile technology may be directly responsible for the global production of goods and services worth up to $12.3 trillion.
For Filipino users, the 5G-empowered IoT is closer than you think. Globe Telecom is steadily rolling out 5G services in Metro Manila9—starting with Filipino homes through Globe AT HOME Air Fiber 5G and eventually expanding to businesses.
At Globe Business, not only do we aim to help enterprises pursue their digital journey. We also strive to empower them to create the unbelievable with next-level connectivity solutions, which will eventually include 5G. Its mainstream adoption will enable companies to do more and be more—to improve the way they do business and the way they interact with customers. Together with IoT, 5G can bring people to a better future. And that future starts now.
Know more about 5G and IoT in part 2 of this blog series.
Interested to learn more about our products and solutions? Arrange a consultation with a Globe Business Advisor today.
Sources:
1 https://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet-of-things.htm
2 https://partners.wsj.com/emerson/unlocking-performance/how-manufacturers-can-achieve-top-quartile-performance
3 https://www.news-medical.net/news/20180517/Smart-technology-helps-improve-outcomes-for-patients-with-head-and-neck-cancer.aspx
4 https://staceyoniot.com/how-we-hacked-diabetes-with-the-internet-of-things/
5 https://www.zdnet.com/article/vr-ar-and-the-nhs-how-virtual-and-augmented-reality-will-change-healthcare/
6 https://www.globalbankingandfinance.com/the-future-is-here-ai-and-machine-learning-in-financial-services/
7 https://www.fintechnews.org/how-will-5g-shake-up-banking-and-fintech
8 https://www.qualcomm.com/invention/5g/economy
9 https://www.bworldonline.com/5g-network-now-available-in-pasig-globe/
10 https://new.abb.com/products/robotics/industrial-robots/irb-14000-yumi
11 https://www.reportlinker.com/p04948752/Internet-of-Medical-Things-Forecast-to
