By Ripunjay Bararia, CTO & Co-Founder, SugarBox Networks
In the last decade or so, digital access has become commonplace, with mobile devices now
highly integrated and immersed in this digital universe. Our world today is increasingly
reliant on digital connectivity, with an ever-growing demand for a stable network, becoming a necessity. Think about it – using mobile apps, shopping online, or even while checking for a flight – we are dependent on digital access and undeniably expect a seamless experience.
But when this interface experiences the minutest of delays, we as an impatient generation,
switch off to another application or another relevant website. This is just one of the initial
changes that 5G will add value to. With 5G technology finally set to launch in India, industry experts believe that this will usher in a new era for Digital India. Enhanced connectivity or speed, ultra-low latency, no buffering, and increased bandwidth, will transform the entire digital experience, explicitly with advanced facilities such as – 4K Video Streaming, AR / VR enabled Games and Extended reality (XR) applications.
As one of the biggest advancements in digital transformation, 5G when implemented on a mass scale, will in fact prove to be a reliable and closest to human interaction asset, for all technology-focused solutions. While expectations with 5G are soaring high, the ground reality is slightly more than what we all are aware of. With the auctions completed, the actual rollout comes with challenges in the implementation such as network coverage, infrastructure, congestion, and digital inclusion.
One could say that this is a replay of what the world experienced during the 4G rollout – numerous users, a lack of infrastructure, and a prevalent network with bottlenecks. Additionally, the initial investments by telcos for the spectrum buyouts and actual market
rollout could be reasons for probable higher consumer tariffs, further deepening the digital
divide. This is where the tech universe comes into play with the recommendation of using a cloud- fragment based technology to offer a stable, low-latency experience, whilst reducing
physical proximity between the end-customer and content availability.
The use of a cloud- fragment based technology will allow the 5G network to address the bigger Internet difficulties, especially from the point of view of on-ground deployment. A cloud-fragment (hyperlocal edge cloud) within the telecom infrastructure, could reduce the latency associated with numerous data centres, back-haul, and network providers while 5G will lower network latency. These technologies will also eliminate the bandwidth gap and make it available in remote areas as well.
The 5G technology-powered edge cloud environment will revolutionise how businesses
conduct their operations and how consumers access digital information and services. It will
significantly improve remote working experiences and will enable organizations to operate
without an office and with limited delays. It will help organisations be more responsive and
meet real-time demands, with faster data transfers, real-time data streaming, and analytics.
A patented technology solution deploying miniature cloud fragments and caching
algorithms has the potential to enable users to access data cached on the Edge.
This Cloud Fragment technology can provide improved connection density for 5G (i.e., support for 100,000 vs. 2,000 active devices in a square km). The technology industry is often rife with innumerable “next big innovations”, and more times than you can imagine. But, there is an indisputable agreement that 5G will be revolutionising the potential and existence of all these next big things to come our way!