HRD’s pocket guide Personal development
HRD’s pocket guide to...
5G
Why do I need to know
about it?
Like records to cassettes to CDs, or
landlines to mobiles to smartphones,
the technology that supports much of
our daily lives is evolving.
5G is the fifth generation of cellular
mobile network and will be used by
all kinds of devices. It makes greater
use of available radio spectrum so is
able to provide quicker and higherquality
connectivity than its
predecessor 4G.
While 3G and 4G were mainly
designed for use on mobile phones,
5G was built with the Internet of
Things, AI and smart objects (such
as driverless cars) in mind.
“5G is much more than an upgrade
to 4G telephones. It is not a single
network but a ‘network of networks’.
This ranges from very low-speed
connections to sensors and devices, to
extremely fast data networks capable of
delivering extremely high-resolution
video,” explains Rick Chandler,
chairman of the Communications
Management Association.
Dan Adams, head of
communications at Deloitte, concurs.
“5G is a big leap forward for
wireless connectivity. 4G networks
can only support a maximum of
100,000 devices per square kilometre.
5G can connect up to a million,”
he highlights.
What do I need to know
about it?
5G will fundamentally change the way
we work. Just some of the applications
for 5G already being seen in industry
include smart cities, remote
telemedicine, monitoring elderly or
vulnerable patients in their homes,
remotely observing crops and
animals, and autonomous vehicles.
Businesses will get faster, more
reliable and more efficient wireless
enhance the wellbeing and work/life
balance of employees by enabling
greater flexibility. However, HR
professionals must be careful that it
does not end up strengthening an
always-on culture,” she says.
5G will also change the ways people
work by fundamentally affecting what
kinds of jobs are available. With AI
and robotics – enabled by this
superfast network – taking over
many routine, time-consuming and
monotonous tasks humans will need
to be redeployed. This could involve
moving to an entirely new role, which
of course will require some retraining.
“HR will face the challenges of
reskilling and upskilling the
workforce,” confirms Chandler.
“These concepts should become part
of a business culture. Information
sources in the business might not be
from other humans. Business strategy
even at board level might rely on
information delivered through 5G
networks. Job roles might change
very quickly and many times so the
workforce should be assessed on
ability to learn and receptiveness to
new ideas.”
Anything else?
Although it may seem like this is all
happening at lightning speed, and
some companies are certainly on the
front foot with deployment, 5G will
likely take a while to bed in.
“It will likely take years for the
network to replicate 4G’s marketplace
dominance, just as it did for 4G to
overtake 3G,” advises Adams. HR
Going
further
hrmagazine.co.uk April 2020 HR 51
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The HRD’s pocket guide series offers an explanation of areas
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connectivity, which will make
operations between individuals,
sites and countries much more
streamlined. More processes can be
automated, as the network is able to
support much larger dataloads than
anything previously used.
Many organisations are already
scrambling to join in; Deloitte
predicts that more than 100
companies worldwide will be
evaluating or have deployed 5G in
industrial environments like factories
or ports by the end of 2020.
Amanda Lambert, people director
at Three, says: “Businesses of all sizes
will be able to feel the benefit of 5G –
not least because it will enable remote
working with faster downloads and
less lag time, but also increased
capacity in the office too.”
Three has made significant
investments into the UK’s 5G
network, and is able to offer peak
speeds at least two times faster than
other telecoms operators as a result.
Where can HR add value?
With such a fast and high-quality
network available the rationale for
working in offices is dwindling, when
both employee and employer save
money from homeworking (no
commute/no office costs).
Lambert cautions HR to be
prepared for and open to greater
use of flexible working.
“5G will challenge the current
social norms of the five-day working
week and presenteeism. If handled
well, 5G presents an opportunity to
Recommended
reading:
The 5G
User’s Guide
by Jyrki Penttinen
Reigning the
Future: AI, 5G,
Huawei, and the
Next 30 Years of
US-China Rivalry
by Dennis Wang
A Comprehensive
Guide to
5G Security
by Madhusanka
Liyanage
/hrmagazine.co.uk