RCR Wireless News editors recap the highlights of Mobile World Congress 2016
Mobile World Congress 2016 was a jam-packed show with a huge emphasis on the future of “5G” and the “Internet of Things.” 5G is moving into the trial phase, which will help inform ultimate standardization. Along the way, lots of new services defined in the LTE-Advanced Pro standard are expected to hit the market.
The long-term vision of IoT – autonomous driving and robots using the tactile Internet to remotely operate vehicles, for instance – is a ways off, but high-tech use cases are helping to understand what 5G will mean.
One thing expected of 5G is operators will need to embrace network functions virtualization and software-defined networking, in particular the open-source, collaborative initiatives designed to ensure the telecom industry can innovate quickly and at scale. RCR Wireless News editor-in-chief Dan Meyer discusses these issues with managing editor Sean Kinney.
A major point of conversation as these new technologies take shape is the underlying business case. When everything is connected and producing data, current cellular data cost models won’t work, so expect to see major changes in the way service providers charge for cellular data.
Also, don’t let all the 5G talk serve as a distraction. LTE has a long runway left both in developed markets and developing regions.