5G to connect 50 billion things

“What is 5G?” asked Aicha Evans, the general manager of Intel’s communications and devices group, during a recent keynote speech. “It’s not a faster modem, it’s not a faster 4G modem. It’s a unifier, it’s a fusion of all of these technologies.”

By 2020, Evans declared, some 50 billion “things” will become connected: self-driving cars, traffic lights, smart-city sensor networks, personal drones, appliances, etc. “If it computes, it must connect,” she said. “Otherwise it might as well be a brick.” This is the Internet of Things, of course, and it will require networking.

“5G doesn't say what networks will be used to connect them, just that we won't have to bother thinking about different networks at all. 5G technology will provide us the illusion of unity.

“In my generation, or even my children’s generation, even human beings will be connected,” Evans said.