Just like electricity, 5G Wireless Gigabit Speed technology is about to have a defining and fundamental impact on our way of life. Put simply, it will revolutionise it.
It will transform all sectors of our economy and the delivery of all public services. 5G can deliver data more than 10 times faster than 4G. It will allow us to operate driverless cars on our roads and driverless tractors in our farms. Rural communities will have access to gigabit-speed broadband. Doctors will be able to use it to diagnose and deliver healthcare, in many cases without citizens leaving their homes.
Healthcare could be delivered 24 hours a day with astonishing speed, saving a significant number of lives. It will drastically enhance the delivery of our education, especially in hard to reach communities. High-quality video conferencing will dramatically reduce our unnecessary travel, hence having a massive positive impact on our present climate change emergency.
5G is already being deployed in large manufacturing plants leading to significant improvements in automation and productivity. Organisations all over the world have begun using 5G applications in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, advance data analytics, robotics, cloud computing, virtual and augmented reality, management of renewable energy and drones.
5G is not just a mobile communication. It is the emergence of the fourth industrial revolution.
Many countries throughout the world have recognised the key importance of this technology. They are embracing and implementing 5G as the critical component of their industrial strategy.
North Wales cannot afford to ignore this globally recognised industrial revolution. The UK, Welsh and Local Governments must act as a matter of urgency and plan their industrial strategy for North Wales, to include 5G as its most significant component. The good news is that there is no shortage of private investors ready to invest in all gigabit speed technologies. They are already investing billions of pounds in ultra-speed connectivity infrastructure all over the UK. Sadly, so far, we have hardly any significant private sector investment in North Wales for gigabit speed connectivity.
Covid-19 has damaged North Wales badly. I believe we have an opportunity in North Wales to embrace this technology and act swiftly to implement it throughout North Wales as a key utility infrastructure.
We are very lucky that we have already a publicly owned Fibreoptic cable backhaul, called Fibre Speed, which will hugely facilitate the deployment of 5G. We are also very fortunate that Bangor University is in the process of developing an amazing world-class Data Signal Processing technology that will make the eventual deployment of 5G in rural North Wales commercially viable. Bangor University’s DSP technology has the potential to enable 5G to be rolled out globally within the most rural and disadvantaged locations and communities.
The private sector has quickly seized the opportunity and recognised the emergence of the fourth industrial revolution. Now it’s the time for our national and local governments to join the private sector by investing in 5G for North Wales before it is too late.
— to www.leaderlive.co.uk
