So where’s the promised 5G revolution?

When 5G was launched in Britain five years ago, it was hailed as a revolutionary technology that would transform our lives. Although, on the face of it, the technology didn’t differ in principle from its predecessors – using radio waves to transmit data – the figures representing the bandwidth, latency and upload and download speeds were spectacularly improved. To take just one example, 4G supports 2,000 connections per square kilometre but 5G a million.

All manner of exciting applications were enthusiastically predicted. I particularly liked the automotive ones. Cars would routinely communicate with each other. You’d be able to see through the car or truck ahead, seamlessly connecting to its on-board camera to enjoy a safety-enhancing view of hazards in your path, projected onto your windscreen.

In other areas I witnessed demos of how 5G-connected ambulances would be able to transmit critical data on patients to hospitals in real-time, resulting in life-saving and more precise treatment. Sporting events would be enhanced by connected augmented reality headsets for spectators. Farmers could connect every cow to monitor its location, read data from sensors monitoring its health and fertility and, through automated milking processes, supposedly allow cows to choose when to be milked, contributing to their well-being.

In spite of the feverish hype, the exciting 5G future hasn’t happened yet. Why not? The big problem is that the higher frequencies used by 5G have less range and require more masts to achieve the same coverage. Over most of the country, sufficient masts simply haven’t been erected.

I don’t think this is primarily the result of public objections. Though people are understandably upset when a 100-foot mast obscures their kitchen view, many of the masts are smaller and planning permission isn’t required if they’re no more than 6 metres higher than the building they’re mounted on, outside conservation areas.

It’s tempting to blame a shortage of skills and equipment, in particular kit from Huawei, which is banned in the UK. But I don’t think this argument holds up. 5G is only a little more advanced in countries like Germany that haven’t banned Huawei devices from their infrastructure and have a more highly trained workforce.

I’m afraid the problem is purely economic. There’s not enough proven applications to take advantage of the capacity and, until the capacity is there, there’s no incentive to develop them.

I have been trying out a connected car dashcam recently. The idea is that it acts as a sort of Ring camera for your car, alerting you to suspicious activity, location tracking and theft alerts. To work quickly, reliably and effectively, it would need a strong 5G signal. But it only works on 4G and you’re usually struggling for sufficient data and low latency. With blanket 5G coverage, the system would work well, but without it, it’s frustrating.

If ever a technology needed that killer app, whether in software or hardware form, it’s 5G. It’s crying out for an iTunes, a YouTube or a Boeing 747. It may be taking much longer than originally anticipated but the 5G revolution is one I’d still very much like to see happen.