News sponsored by the Samsung Galaxy S22 series:

The emergent connectivity technologies of Wi-Fi 6 and 5G are more than hype and expectation, they are technologies that can fundamentally transform the business bottom line and deliver measurable value. According to a report recently released by the Wi-Fi Alliance, the blend of new technology and additional spectrum has enhanced the economic value of Wi-Fi to a total global forecast of about $4,35 billion by 2025. As for 5G, McKinsey believes that it is set to remain at the forefront digital change and enablement for multiple enterprise sectors and industries, offering up improved innovation and opportunity as a result. Together, they are the tools with which organisations can build ecosystems that redefine and refine ways of work, industry, innovation and connectivity.

Wi-Fi 6 (W6) is the marketing name for the IEEE 802.11ax set of standards and was originally developed in response to the increased volume of devices in enterprise and consumer environments. It offers the enterprise numerous benefits across increased data throughput, reduced latency for devices registering to the network, a homogenous user experience, greater signal efficiency and reduced interference. On a cost-related note, W6 has the potential to reduce CAPEX costs for hardware as it requires fewer access points, dependent on device spread and architecture, and is more power efficient, leading to an immediate bottom-line benefit.  And, like 5G, W6 is one of the cornerstones of sustainable digital transformation.

As for 5G, this is not a new conversation being had by enterprises. It’s a technology that has had its fair share of media hype, and consternation, but this doesn’t change the fact that it’s incredibly relevant for organisations that want to embed agility and flexibility into the connectivity infrastructure. Intelligently developed 5G use cases can potentially unlock significant value for the organisation, providing access to the entirety of the digital transformation toolkit. From industrial transformation to edge analytics via private 5G, to wireless connected industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) to big data analytics via soon to be available public 5G, these technologies are poised to bring new levels of efficiency and sustainability to the business table.

Combining the power of W6 and private 5G, organisations can develop their own substantive coverage and capacity that can be optimised for enterprise or industrial use, and that’s theirs in its entirety. It provides a high-power performance that organisations can leverage to achieve multiple use cases across IoT, IIoT, machine learning, automation and beyond. It can also be used in a fixed wireless access configuration with features such as edge compute and network slicing to deliver services that put the organisation on an impressive competitive edge.

Together, 5G and W6 are the power couple that can be customised and curated to transform how organisations approach and manage their connectivity requirements. As South African mobile networks evolve, 5G based fixed wireless access (FWA), organisations will be able to rapidly roll out high speed, high-performance networks that embed ultra-fast technology and that reduce deployment times down to hours. In the near future, these networks will also deliver faster download speeds and potentially reduce the cost to serve, as well as the cost of mobile broadband by up to 25% if supported properly.

In conclusion, W6 and 5G from BCX can be leveraged by enterprises to shift connectivity platforms and approaches to suit the demands of the modern business, regardless of sector or strategy. Both offer immense potential to disrupt traditional ways of working and operating and give companies with an eye on the future a very strong foundation from which to reach the top shelf.