The current accelerated trend of urbanisation – with an expected influx of one-million citizens into cities across the world every week over the next 40 years – is dictating a need for more robust mobile connectivity.

Two-thirds of the world’s population are forecast to reside in cities by 2050, and stronger, more reliable networks for mobile connectivity to cater to the demands of the future will be critical, says Ericsson Middle East and Africa chief technology officer Zoran Lazarevic.

The most significant technological transformation arising from this will be fifth-generation (5G) technology, which will deliver better speeds and better energy efficiency than modern fourth-generation networks.

“As the next step in the evolution of mobile communication, the key aim of 5G is to provide connectivity everywhere for any kind of device that may benefit from being connected,” he comments.

5G is expected to support a wide range of new applications and use cases, including smart homes, traffic safety, critical infrastructure, industry processes and very-high-speed media delivery, with implications for nearly all sectors of society, including labour and financial markets and goods and services demand.

“It will accelerate the development of the Internet of Things,” he says, referring to the great potential of technologies such as artificial intelligence and automation.

“To meet the demands of the new applications and use cases, the capabilities of 5G will extend far beyond previous generations of mobile communication,” Lazarevic continues, citing examples such as very high data rates, very short delay (latency), ultra-high reliability, high energy efficiency and an ability to handle many more devices within the same area.

“It will be about far more than powering smartphones,” he says.

In a time of crisis such as the Covid-19 pandemic, information and communication are critical, with mobile networks an essential part of the communications backbone that enables health workers, public safety officials and critical businesses to stay connected.

“As we continue toward a more urbanised world, the need for 5G becomes truly paramount. Now more than ever, we have a responsibility towards our users to prepare for the many new innovations and emerging challenges and eventually foster a smarter, connected and more technologically advanced future,” he concludes.