SHANGHAI: Two technology developments that will be front and centre for the mobile future are 5G and artificial intelligence (AI).
Speaking at the Mobile World Congress Shanghai 2018, director general of GSMA Mats Granryd said the mobile industry continues to make strong progress with 5G, with 5G leaders planning commercial launches this and next year, including operators in South Korea, Australia and the Philippines, as well as the US and the UAE.
“Operators in China, India and Japan will launch 5G by 2020, and we’ll see other countries across Asia Pacific following.
“GSMA Intelligence forecasts that by 2025, there will be 1.2 billion 5G connections worldwide, with 5G networks covering almost 40 per cent of the global population.
“Asia Pacific will account for more than half of these, or 675 million 5G connections by 2025, to be precise,” he said.
5G network will provide a super-fast, enhanced mobile broadband experience, as well as enabling massive connectivity through Mobile IoT.
For consumers, Granryd said 5G will deliver exciting and immersive experiences that will transform the way we communicate and consume content such as 360-degree videos.
In terms of AI, there’s already a mass market adoption of smartphones and the power of machine learning today.
“We’re already seeing AI in use for virtual agents and chatbots on the web, in apps or on messaging platforms, such as RCS or Rich Communications Services," he said.
“And of course, we are already familiar with AI-based virtual assistants, like the Amazon Echo or Google Home, to name just a couple.
“I think it just shows how quickly this is being integrated into our everyday lives. But the impact of AI goes beyond us as individuals – it is transforming industries,” said Granryd, adding that self-driving cars are a great example where AI will help to process the enormous quantities of data gathered.
These two mega trends, combined, are ushering in a new era for our industry, an era of intelligent connectivity.
Industry-wise, billions of inexpensive sensors and cameras will provide streams of real-time data which then can be acted upon to drive improvements and efficiency.
For instance, advanced sensor and vision technology are creating smarter robots. And these robots will work together, giving each other feedback that will help them, learn, improve and make progressively smarter decisions.
Granryd was addressing his keynote address during the opening ceremony yesterday at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC).
Organised by GSM Association (GSMA), the three-day event attracted more than 60,000 attendees and 550 participating companies.
Themed “Discover a Better Future”, the 2018 MWC Shanghai has seven summits including the 5G Summit, Think AI Summit, Future Vehicle Summit, Global Device Summit and the Internet of Things (IoT) Summit.
Keynote speakers include notable mobile leaders such as the president of China Telecom Liu Aili, China Mobile chairman Shang Bing, and Huawei rotating chairman Eric Xu.