Fraunhofer readies 5G for industry

5G is hip and happening. From all sides, consumers and businesses are bombarded with messages advertising the latest generation of wireless technology. Is there a hefty dose of opportunism among network operators, and a solid technology push? “Here in Germany, companies can apply for part of the spectrum themselves and don’t necessarily have to collaborate with an operator,” says Niels König, department manager of production metrology at Fraunhofer IPT and coordinator of all 5G activities at the Aachen institute. “Those parties indeed have to push to get their offerings to the market. They then join forces with an appealing name like BMW or set up a 5G network in a soccer stadium. I find that very marketing-driven indeed.”

Traditionally, of course, network operators have been heavily focused on the consumer market. “That’s where they come from, where they’ve been making a living for decades. Their whole organization is set up to sell SIM cards. With 5G, they’ll attract few new customers in that sector; for consumer use, the new generation is a normal evolution compared to 4G. Of course, the speed will increase significantly, but all network operators can use that same argument.”