February-March 2022 - 21

that time, the major cell carriers and
cellphone manufacturers have been
developing the infrastructure and the
products that can support 5G.
However, the appeal of 5G is
much more than just the improvements
in speed we will see with
our cellphones. This is because 5G
offers significantly more bandwidth
for more devices and will allow for
upload and download speeds that are
much faster, all with less latency and
more reliable than the current 4G
LTE. All carriers are advertising their
5G networks, however, not all 5G
technology is the same.
5G is a great opportunity for
developers to deploy applications that
take advantage of fast, high-speed
lower latency networks. Like any data
network, people want to know what
the advantages are going to be of this
new technology. So, let's look at what
specifically will be possible with 5G.
KILLER SPEEDS
If you are close enough to one of
these 5G towers with your 5G phone,
you will be able to download entire
episodes of HD programs in a matter
of seconds. Buffering when viewing a
video will be a thing of the past.
LESS TOWER CONGESTION
With current 4G LTE technology,
when thousands of people descend
on a small area, towers tend to get
congested and reach capacity. On 5G,
this will no longer be an issue. This
means that people won't feel like they
are competing against each other for
the tower using their cellphone on
internet-based activities like streaming
content with all the other users at
crowded venues like airports, sporting
events and concerts.
With more bandwidth available,
people will also be able to use this
bandwidth to do more with their
devices, making them more versatile
than ever before.
5G offers significantly more
bandwidth for more devices
and will allow for upload
and download speeds that
are much faster, all with less
latency and more reliable
than the current 4G LTE.
NEW TECHNOLOGY OPTIONS
As network speeds have increased,
more and more tasks are being transitioned
from the world of computers to
the world of smart devices. With the
increasing network speeds, this could
open new doors for smart device
technology that may not have been
available. We're talking AI (artificial
intelligence), VR (virtual reality), and
much more.
When 4G LTE first emerged,
people were blown away by the speed
and capabilities of such an advanced
network. With 4G, LTE came with
more rich content, from video streaming
to live gaming. The introduction of
5G will allow for enhanced innovation
and new capabilities that weren't
previously possible.
2G/3G SHUTDOWN
With 4G's increasing growth and
5G already being rolled out in larger
metropolitan areas, network operators'
focus has been shifting away from
legacy technologies like 3G. The move
away from 3G will undoubtedly be
a significant transition for many IoT
and M2M companies, because 2G and
3G connectivity is still widely used for
deployed devices.
T-Mobile is retiring the Sprint 3G
network on March 31, 2022. Between
now and that date when the Sprint
network is fully decommissioned,
capacity and coverage may change. As
the cellular carriers roll out the new
and enhanced 5G network, they will
be turning off older 2G and 3G networks
that will cause many operators
to lose connectivity prior to the official
sunset date.
This means that the time for planning
and figuring out how to upgrade
your older 2G/3G devices is now. It
is important to have a plan in place,
especially for organizations that have a
large portfolio of devices that need to
be upgraded.
KEEPING EQUIPMENT CONNECTED
As adoption grows and the carriers
invest more and more resources into
new technology, IoT will continue to
expand and be an even larger part of
all our lives. Understanding the need
and having a strategic plan in place to
upgrade older devices is important to
you and your business so that you don't
face service interruptions or downtime.
An integral part of this plan will
be upgrading your 2G/3G equipment
to 4G/5G so that it continues to have
connectivity once the cellular carriers
sunset their older network. The carriers
have acknowledged that service
may be reduced in areas as they
upgrade towers from 2G/3G to 5G.
As the carriers continue to transition
older equipment to 5G, coverage
will be reduced and older devices may
not work, even before the deadlines.
It's best to get started now so that your
equipment doesn't lose connectivity
and functionality. ■
About the author
Brian Gill is national sales
executive of OptConnect.
Gill is responsible for growing
the company's services
across multiple verticals.
His main expertise is in the
unattended retail space.
With more than 30 years
of progressive career growth in executivelevel
positions in the vending, amusements
and coin-op laundry, Gill is a high-energy
business leader with deep industry and
multi-generational relationships. He can be
reached at brian.gill@optconnect.com or
(315) 542-7875.
February/March 2022 * VendingMarketWatch.com 21
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February-March 2022

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