Managed.IT - issue 59

13 www.managedITmag.co.uk 5G make changes to digital blueprints in real time and display them on tablets and large monitors in the trailer; and n Large-Site Failover – The IT team is also exploring the possibility of replacing an expensive back-up fibre line with 5G. Christian Neyle, IT manager for Taylor Construction, believes that only 5G can provide the bandwidth, low latency and constant uptime at the edge of the network that these applications demand. “The Cradlepoint 5G solution, enabled by the Telstra 5G network, has transformed our ability to employ high-performing enterprise- grade applications, top to bottom. To some people, this is science fiction; to me, this is the next generation of business. We could have used fibre, but mobility was also important, which is why 5G is the only solution that works.” Cradlepoint CEO George Mulhern added: “Wireless WANs, based on the capabilities of 4G LTE and 5G technology, are becoming an essential part of any organisation’s digital transformation. Cradlepoint NetCloud allows companies to manage both LTE and 5G networks under the same cloud platform, with the same operational, security and analytic capabilities. By deploying advanced LTE services today, companies can be ready to make a seamless transition to 5G when and where it’s available in their network.” In Australia, Taylor Construction’s trial of Telstra’s 5G network and an enterprise-grade edge networking solution from Cradlepoint highlights the potential benefits of 5G for business. The wide area networking (WAN) solution deployed at a specially selected construction site is based on Telstra’s Enterprise Wireless solution, which provides the 5G service, and Cradlepoint’s NetCloud Service for Branch, delivered through a Cradlepoint E3000 5G-optimised router with a ruggedised W2005 5G Wideband Adapter built for outdoor placement. The combination provides the coverage and the performance – up to 20 times that of 4G – needed to support a range of connected devices and applications that require real-time data. These include: n Holographic Building Visualisation – Microsoft HoloLens mixed-reality smart glasses enable on-site Taylor employees and customers to render a virtual model of a building or elements of the construction process, such as holographic structural steel, framing or electrical schematics; n Wide-Area Safety Scanning – 360-degree 8K streaming and QR code scanning from wireless video cameras enables digital induction tracking and automation of the process for checking that every person on-site has completed safety training; n IoT Structural Sensing – Smart sensors fixed to rebar and embedded in concrete aggregate send data to the Cradlepoint router, then on to the cloud, so that Taylor can determine whether concrete has been poured correctly and track any shifting of the concrete for years to come; n Real-Time Design Display – The Taylor team needs to be able to The 5G Business Readiness Report highlights the potential of 5G to drive sustainable economic growth, boosted in part by the Covid-19 pandemic’s acceleration of digitisation, particularly among the least digitally advanced industries. The report draws a clear correlation between 5G deployment and business performance, with companies at an advanced level of 5G adoption being the only group to experience a net increase in productivity (+10%) since Covid-19, and the only group able to maintain or increase customer engagement during the pandemic. 5G mature companies are also growing considerably faster than their peers, with 49% of firms in the expansion phase and 37% in the implementation phase – the two most advanced stages of 5G maturity – achieving rapid growth last year, compared to 20% in the planning phase, 11% in the discovery phase and 5% in the passive phase. Nokia is anticipating a big increase in 5G investment as enterprises advance their digitisation programmes, with 71% of large companies planning to invest in 5G over the next 5 years. While the report highlights the benefits of investment in 5G, it also reveals low levels of 5G maturity across the eight economies analysed – Australia, Germany, Finland, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, the UK and the US. Just 7% of companies (4% in the UK) are categorised as 5G mature, with 50% at the midway point between planning and deployment on the 5G readiness scale i.e. still conducting trials/pilots or early stage deployments such as 5G mobile phones or limited 5G connectivity for fleet services or rural locations. https://www.nokia.com/ networks/5g/readiness-report 5G could add $8 trillion to global GDP, says Nokia Building the case for 5G 5G-enabled industries have the potential to add $8 trillion to global GDP by 2030, claims a new report from Nokia and Nokia Bell Labs