Radio Network & Infrastructure – 4G & 5G Progression
The last year has been eventful for 4G & 5G networks, to say the very least. Firstly, the UK government announced that telecoms operators must stop procuring new equipment from Huawei, following the introduction of U.S. sanctions. The government sets the target of providing all of our own equipment by 2026.
Additionally, a number of 5G masts were vandalised and, in some cases, burnt to the ground by conspiracy theorists who held 5G networks responsible for the spread of Coronavirus.
Despite aforementioned challenges faced, such as overwhelming data reqirements due to coronavirus implications, estimates from network providers shows that by the end of 2020 more than 1 billion people were living in 5G coverage areas.
The same organisation also anticipates that the transition to 5G will be significantly higher than that of 4G, and that by the end of 2026, it will make up for around 40 per cent of all mobile subscriptions.
Two-Way Radio & Coronavirus
Communications suppliers & developers have made large contributions to preventing the transmission of COVID-19 during the global pandemic. This has ranged from donations & contributions of funds and vital equipment to health facilities across the world, to increased protection of individuals & employees in the workplace.
Another advancement made by communications & security specialists was the implementation of thermal imaging cameras to identify individuals who might be infectious. These cameras are capable of detecting elevated skins temperature, a core symptom of the Coronavirus.
The ability for operators to recieve live temperature readings and alerts has significantly reduced the spread and impact of the virus. This is just another impact the Two-Way Radio and Security industry has had on the pandemic.
Another relevant – much more ‘global’ – technology, however, comes from Everbridge. The company has leveraged what it calls its critical event management (CEM) platform in order to develop its new COVID-19 Shield, Return to Work and Contact Tracing solutions. Giving an overview of the original CEM technology, the Everbridge website states: “Critical Event Management provides an easy way – via an ‘enterprise-wide’ view – to aggregate hundreds of threat data feeds and visualise the intelligence data.” It does this by providing a digital dashboard, with the aforementioned data sources including news feeds, government information, as well as analysis from the company’s team of experts.
Elaborating on the core CEM functionality – in particular how it relates to the new COVID-19 product – the company’s chief customer experience officer, John Maeda, says: “CEM helps organisations identify and assess the severity of events. “[It can help] determine their relevance to an organisation’s people, assets and supply chains. [It can] automate action-taking in order to mitigate threats, track progress, and analyse performance to improve future response.”
That being said, this has greatly augmented the effectiveness of how we analyse data, and relate that to potential threats and our response to them. It is clear that this aspect of Radio technology improvement has had a signficant influence on the outcomes of critical responses & has greatly helped to combat the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world.
Security & CCTV Development
In addition to thermal imagery and its implementation throughout the Pandemic, there have been a huge number of advancements in CCTV and security.
Firstly, the development of Solar powered cameras has been revolutionary for the industry. Now individuals looking to provide security in remote areas, without wifi and power, are able to do so!
At Maximon, our new Solar Powered 4G CCTV Cameras can be installed anywhere, providing you have a 4G signal, there are no other requirements. Installation is fast and the solar-powered unit can be mounted pretty much anywhere.
Get in touch with us today for more information!
