CES 2018 Recap: 5G Innovation Keynote
Execs from Qualcomm, Baidu, and Verizon discuss the imminent roll-out of 5G from various angles
Welcome to Day 2 of CES 2018. Today’s morning keynote session is a panel discussion on the numerous challenges in rolling out 5G networks and the enormous challenges they bring. The session features Qi Lu, Vice Chairman and COO of Baidu; Cristiano Amon, President of Qualcomm; and Verizon CTO Hans Vestberg. Together the three industry insiders offered a sharp dissection of 5G technologies from a varying viewpoint. The panel was moderated by SDxCentral’s editor-in-chief, Sue Marek.
Right off the bat, Qi Lu pointed out how crucial that fast connectivity and low latency that 5G brings will have the most impact on the application of AI, ranging from conversational interfaces on connected devices to self-driving cars, as the enlarged bandwidth and fast speed will enable a whole new bevy of data that can be feed into AI training. “AI is the best friend and accelerator of 5G,” Lu remarked.
To that end, Baidu is working with a number of municipal governments in China as well as China Unicom, one of the biggest telecom carriers in China, to test 5G-enabled projects, including its Apollo project’s cellular V2X (vehicle-to-everything) communications and its bike-sharing project. In particular, Lu gave a shout-out to Xiong’an, the new smart city just outside Beijing that China is building as high-technology hub for the country’s latest innovations. Baidu will be testing many of its 5G-related projects there as well.
As a chipmaker, Qualcomm is tackling the 5G transition from a more industry viewpoint. Cristiano Amon pointed out that 5G standard is no longer an uncertainty as 3GPP, the regulatory body that oversees global cellular standards, officially ratified the hardware specifications for non-standalone 5G standards right before the holiday break. Amon confirms that Qualcomm will continue to work with 3GPP the industry to set the standalone specifications for 5G throughout the year, as it continues to build 5G-ready chipsets to ensure a smooth rollout of 5G to mobile and IoT devices.
As to whether these new 5G-ready chips will raise the hardware cost, Amon brought up a good point that with the omnipresent fast connection and the cloud-based computing that 5G affords will help decrease wireless devices’ reliance on local memory and storage, and therefore offset some of the cost. Amon also called out that most desktop devices that are running on WiFi right now will likely switch to running on 5G once the network becomes available, upending the cellular/WiFi connectivity dichotomy that most consumers are used to.
Verizon, having the most direct business in the rollout of 5G networks of the three companies on stage, is looking at the transition from a practical angle. Vestberg confirmed that Verizon will start testing 5G network in three to five markets within the year, primarily focusing on increasing residential broadband first. Despite the 3GPP approval that Qualcomm mentioned, Vestberg believes that 5G standardization is still very complicated and awaits more industry cooperation. When asked about competitor T-Mobile’s plan to roll out 5G in 12 markets by the end of the year, Vestberg gave the standard “no comment” before boasting that Verizon is confident in becoming the first in the 5G race.
Closing out the discussion, moderator Sue Marek asked the panelists what a regular company should do to prepare for the arrival of 5G connectivity. Summing up the answers from the three panelists, a brand should be 1.) get ready to upgrade their mobile user experience once 5G enables new streaming and immersive media content. 2.) prepare to overhaul their enterprise IT equipment and structure to move from landline/WiFi to cellular wireless, and 3) start exploring the data collection and personalization that AI-powered tools can enhance.
