We discuss the following topics in this blog:
- New shifts in the technology business
- Future of large technology businesses
In addition to these topics, we shall also be answering the following FAQs:
- What is WiFi?
- What is 5G NR?
Juhi Hajela and Dr Anand Agarwal talk about new shifts in the technology business. Dr Anand shares his opinion on the future of large technology businesses.
Juhi: The big news on the front of business technology is Reliance Jio attracting an investment of over 10 Billion dollars in just about a month. This is extremely interesting while the one hand they want to use this to bring down the debt while on the other they will be launching innovative digital platforms at scale like JioMart with WhatsApp payments. This is not dissimilar to what Alphabet and Alibaba have done in the past. In this context what do you think is the future for large technology businesses?
Anand: Jio started off as a good connectivity platform. Post that what started playing out was the applications. First and foremost, it was just voice, people connected to people creating a thin layer of internet on it and then you start putting in all the applications on it. What Jio is trying to do right now is what amazon is doing in a major way what Google is doing is behind the platform, you have a full infrastructure, where all this information becomes ubiquitous.
All the technology companies are bifurcating this part, so you would have an Amazon e-commerce platform as one and Amazon web services another. Jio platforms as one and Jio towers and Jio fibre and Jio networks as another. Azure is one platform and Microsoft office and 360 and everything else is another.
So clearly you see at one end you have large applications, which are B2C applications, behind that, you have a very strong core infrastructure, which is managing, manipulating information and data and that’s what’s becoming the big intellectual property of all technology companies that you own a large infrastructure for data management and you have great applications which are customer facing and which are extremely agile how they move around.
FAQs
What is WiFi?
Put simply, WiFi is a technology that uses radio waves to create a wireless network through which devices like mobile phones, computers, printers, etc., connect to the internet. A wireless router is needed to establish a WiFi hotspot that people in its vicinity may use to access internet services. You’re sure to have encountered such a WiFi hotspot in houses, offices, restaurants, etc.
To get a little more technical, WiFi works by enabling a Wireless Local Area Network or WLAN that allows devices connected to it to exchange signals with the internet via a router. The frequencies of these signals are either 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz bandwidths. These frequencies are much higher than those transmitted to or by radios, mobile phones, and televisions since WiFi signals need to carry significantly higher amounts of data. The networking standards are variants of 802.11, of which there are several (802.11a, 802.11b, 801.11g, etc.).
What is 5G NR?
5G typically refers to the fifth generation of wireless technology. NR, commonly known as New Radio, is a standard developed by the 3GPP Group (Release 15 being the first version introduced back in 2018) outlining the technology required to harness the newly-available millimeter-wave frequencies. The two frequency bands in which 5GNR operates are Frequency Range 1, i.e., Sub 6GHz band (410 MHz to 7125 MHz), and Frequency Range 2, i.e., millimeter-wave (24.25 to 52.6 GHz). Over 4G LTE, 5G NR provides better spectrum utilization, faster data rates, hardware efficiency, and improved signal processing.
From a deployment standpoint, we have Non-Standalone Mode(NSA), Dynamic Spectrum Sharing(DSS), and Standalone Mode (SA). The initial deployments of 5G NR are based on NSA standards, meaning the existing 4G LTE network will operate on the control plane, and 5G NR will be introduced to the user plane. This particular standard was introduced by 3GPP, keeping in mind the industry’s push to faster 5G services rollout while utilizing the existing 4G LTE infrastructure currently in place. On the other hand, operators are also implementing Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) to accelerate the deployment cycle, reducing costs and improving spectrum utilization. In this standard, the same spectrum is shared between the 5G NR and 4G LTE, multiplexing over time per user demands. Lastly, we have the Standalone Mode (SA), which moves towards a complete 5G based network where both signaling and the information transfer are driven by a 5G cell.
In the future, 5G will enable new services, connect new industries and devices, empower new experiences, and much more, providing mission-critical services, enhanced mobile broadband, and various other things.
a) Enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) Applications: High device connectivity, High mobile data rates, and Mobile AR & VR applications
b) Ultra-reliable, low-latency communications (uRLLC)Applications: Autonomous vehicles, Drones, Data monitoring, Smart mfg.
c) Massive machine-type communications (mMTC)Applications: Healthcare, Industry 4.0, Logistics, Environmental monitoring, Smart farming, Smart grids