Imagine how guests will react the minute they are greeted by a 5G-enabled robotic concierge, which instantly recognizes their dialect through audio sensors or their current mood through their body language and facial expression. This is not far from reality, especially as more 5G hotels are being established.

5G can help hotels and travel agencies put automation in full swing. Fast check-in and check-outs can be possible through 5G-powered mobile applications and kiosks that have facial recognition. Virtual assistants connected through 5G can also promptly handle guest inquiries and complaints, recommend tourist spots, and offer hotel services to guests.

As manual processes are minimized, the hospitality industry can focus on creating immersive and enjoyable customer experiences using 5G and IoT. Hotels and travel companies can provide visitors with state-of-the-art entertainment such as virtual reality hubs for games and movies. They can also arrange video conferencing rooms for business travelers who need to conduct seamless meetings.

Network capacity can become especially crucial too during major event launches. With a 5G-upgraded scalable network, however, hotel organizers will no longer need to worry about technical difficulties due to an inadequate connection.

Modernizing the Public Sector

5G and IoT can help convert organizations from being mere service providers into reliable partners. Governments, for instance, can use technologies enabled by a powerful internet network to propel the creation of intelligent cities.

For example, 5G—when combined with IoT—can make garbage collection systems more efficient. City governments can designate certain areas for trash disposal. Within these areas, sensors can be installed to track the amount of waste and signal garbage collectors once the limit is reached.

5G-powered sensors can also make traffic lights work efficiently. Currently, traffic lights are time-based. With 5G and IoT, roads can be lined with motion detectors to count the number of cars per lane and optimize traffic, allocating more time for lanes with more cars and vice versa.

Energy conservation can also be a result of 5G and IoT's interaction. Intelligent street lights can automatically turn on in the absence of sunlight and recharge in the presence of it. With these technological transformations, city governments can save and invest more in other innovative projects.

5G's new level of connectivity can also open doors for an effective and timely response to emergencies. International governments are already testing drones for search-and-rescue scenarios. In the future, an ultra-fast and reliable connection can play a huge role in disaster management, with 5G-enabled drones delivering equipment, medicine, food, and water. 5G-powered devices can also empower medical specialists with real-time data to perform remote emergency diagnoses to patients. Who knows? 5G might someday pave the way for the successful creation of all-robot response teams.

Streamlining Logistics and Transportation

If 5G, together with IoT, can aid in building intelligent cities, what more for logistics and transportation?

From a futuristic standpoint, 5G and IoT’s combination can turn loading docks into gigantic parcel scanners that can instantly record items inside every vehicle that arrives. With sensors attached to each item, identifying, sorting, storing, and distributing goods can be more efficient. Companies can leave these processes to 5G-powered AI robots to further reduce lead time and increase productivity for logistics and transportation teams.

In the short-term, 5G can enhance existing functionalities such as tracking and tracing goods, equipment, and vehicles. For instance, both 5G and IoT can help transportation companies manage and monitor the location, mileage, speed, engine status, and temperature of their fleet vehicles. Although Machine-to-Machine communication networks are already possible with 4G, 5G connection can drastically speed up the arrival of data to provide business owners with real-time updates on their moving assets. This enables them to gain accurate information and make faster decisions to minimize accidents and late deliveries.

5G and IoT can also empower logistics providers to accommodate large order quantities without compromising swift quality deliveries. Both technologies can give teams real-time data at a stock-keeping unit level. Intelligent tracking devices can be attached to parcels to ensure the safe delivery of all packages. If parcels are sent to the wrong recipient, delivery hubs can accurately and instantly trace it back—as opposed to the current process that takes longer because it relies on manual scan points.

The possibilities that 5G and IoT bring can further close the gap among manufacturing plants, warehouses, delivery hubs, and the rest of the supply chain.

Enhancing Retail

Another industry in the supply chain that can benefit from 5G's speed, low latency, and reliability is the retail sector. 

With the capacity that 5G offers, more customers can effortlessly connect to the internet through their phones, especially now that many are spending more time on their mobile devices. Filipinos alone consume around 10 hours and 2 minutes a day online. 5G can give customers greater control over what they buy with a faster, more seamless end-to-end retail journey—from searching for items and comparing features, benefits, and prices to ordering goods. 

Not only that, 5G's capabilities can empower retailers to collect consumer data and use it to target the right audience at the right moment. This enables brands to cut down on costs by focusing on more active buyers. It also allows them to provide personalized recommendations that address the specific needs of customers, increasing brand love in the long run.

With the data produced by 5G-powered devices, for example, a retail manager can be prompted seconds before a downpour, even without having to peek through the window. This allows him to offer a flash sale on umbrellas while targeting only a specific set of customers—those within a 500-meter radius. Through this, stores can maximize stocks, identify purchasing patterns, optimize pricing, and forecast demand in real-time. It can also help brands establish presence, especially when their customers need them the most.

The wonders of 5G and IoT do not stop there. Both technologies can be used to innovate retail experiences in various ways. For instance, businesses can finally put up intelligent fashion mirrors for customers to experience a 360-degree outfit view and live color change without touching a piece of clothing. 

Stores can also give purchasers the power to create bespoke products, eliminating the back-and-forth correspondence with sales clerks. Customers can conveniently place custom-made orders via a mobile app instead of waiting for a sales person’s email response. With an app, they can easily visualize the shoe they want—from fit, heel size, color, and material to embellishments—and wait as 5G-powered systems do magic. 

These possibilities through 5G and IoT can remove human error, quicken production time, and provide clients with real-time visibility, increasing reliability for retail brands.

Preparing for a More Connected Philippines

2019 has been a historic year for technology, as it marks the inception of 5G. Although it is still in its early stages, the potential that 5G holds—especially when combined with IoT—is already paramount. The synergy of these two will eventually unlock new opportunities for families and businesses to experience digital ubiquity that is fast, seamless, reliable, and intuitive.

A more connected Philippines—that is what we aspire for. And we are not far from that dream, as we have already come home to the future with Globe At Home Air Fiber 5G, enabling the country to be the first to launch the new network in Southeast Asia. 

It is only a matter of time until 5G reaches businesses. So start now. Prepare yourself and your team for the future of connectivity.

Interested to learn more about our products and solutions? Arrange a consultation with a Globe Business Advisor today.