Last month the government announced that Bristol will receive over £16million in investment to enable the city centre to act as a test bed for 5G.

Being named the 2018 Global Smart City at the Global Mobile Awards, or GLOMOs, Bristol is developing a reputation for leading innovation in this mobile network technology.

Adrian Lawson, Managing Director at Symec, says: “I think it’s fantastic that Bristol has been awarded this investment. It exemplifies another reason why Bristol is at the cutting edge of mobile technology.”

What is 5G?

Fifth generation wireless technology will create an always connected, interactive world. Offering a huge increase in speed, capacity and reliability in comparison to its predecessors.

 It enables more things to connect together at once, offering a huge increase in bandwidth. 5G networks will be able to handle more data and connect more devices simultaneously and do this all at much faster speeds than is possible using existing technology.

5G uses parts of the electromagnetic spectrum that aren’t currently being used by other kinds of networks, enabling it to be faster. New developments in receiver and transmitter technology allow 5G networks to communicate using very high and very low frequency waves which, until recently, was impossible using existing technology.

What does it mean for businesses?

For businesses, this means maximum uptime in the company. Near real-time interactivity across workspaces will create a smarter internet.

5G services could be up to 10 times faster than current 4G speeds and potentially make current broadband speeds seem slow in comparison.

Steve Dono, Sales Director – Voice & Data Services at Symec, says “5G is a fantastic opportunity for businesses to increase their efficiency. No more dropouts, higher speeds, maximum uptime. We can’t wait to get our hands on it.”

“For any business on their connected journey, 5G is something to be excited about.” Steve adds.

5G is expected to be rolled out in the UK in 2020.