Thanks to 5G, this is the decade we graduate from the smartphone


Kelsey Warner
  • English
  • Arabic

If the past decade was all about the smartphone, the next will be defined by the deluge of devices and data points connected to 5G, from our cars and tablets to security cameras at airports and online medical records.

Broad adoption of the fifth-generation wireless network, known as 5G, is unlikely to take hold until at least 2025. Governments and the private sector are likely to take advantage of 5G before individual consumers, analysts say.

For consumers, the higher price of 5G-enabled smartphones is a major hurdle, leaving the experience to the early adopters, rather than becoming a mainstream global phenomenon. Most such smartphones are at the high end of the market, costing Dh5,000 or more.

Every single device is connected to a public network. This advantage of saving money [using 5G] is creating monsters

But as we experienced with the uptake of 3G and 4G, improved download speeds will give rise to new innovations and products.

While the addictive game Angry Birds, social networking giant Facebook and ride-hailing app Uber shaped the past decade, developers are already at work coming up with the next big idea – and it is unlikely to be developed specifically for a smartphone.

The next-generation network will be 100 times faster than what we are used to, getting as close to ‘real time’ speed as humanity can be. The increased efficiency will lead to cost savings, an incentive for the private sector to invest in developing products that rely on the network, known as the Internet of Things. Between 2018 and 2030, the value in the number of IoT-connected devices is forecast to more than double, from $22 billion to $50bn.

The vast improvement of voice recognition and facial recognition, the new experiences possible in virtual and augmented reality environments and the potential for autonomous driving and automated systems mean we won’t live by the smartphone alone.

Already, voice assistants are better at conversing and are doing so in more languages (Google rolled out its Arabic assistant earlier this month) and robots and drones have improved precision – all boosted by lower latency in network connections.

But even though 5G networks have been switched on in the UAE (first at Jumeirah Lakes Towers in Dubai) and throughout the GCC, as well as in parts of Europe, North America and Asia, the new network will be used first by large sector players in security, aviation and energy, said Simone Vernacchia, a partner specialising in digital and cyber security at PwC Middle East.

But he predicts that over the next decade, human-machine interactions will increase as more and more devices begin gathering data through sensors and cameras, and the movement of the human body "will create new kinds of interfaces" for products, he told The National.

The warning for any user of 5G, Mr Vernacchia said, is being aware of security risks. The speed of the new network is achieved in part by doing away with an internal gateway that was previously needed to go online.

With 5G, a device is connected directly with no intermediary, which was typically used to layer on security. No such security gateway will exist with the new network, and as use cases for 5G are being developed, so too are security fixes to lessen vulnerability to hacks.

“Every single device is connected to a public network,” Mr Vernacchia said.

“This advantage of saving money [using 5G] is creating monsters.”

Buyer beware.

Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

Awar Qalb

Director: Jamal Salem

Starring: Abdulla Zaid, Joma Ali, Neven Madi and Khadija Sleiman

Two stars

ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

MATCH INFO

World Cup qualifier

Thailand 2 (Dangda 26', Panya 51')

UAE 1 (Mabkhout 45 2')

ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

The lowdown

Bohemian Rhapsody

Director: Bryan Singer

Starring: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee

Rating: 3/5

EMIRATES'S%20REVISED%20A350%20DEPLOYMENT%20SCHEDULE
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Who is Allegra Stratton?

 

  • Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
  • Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
  • In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
  • The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
  • Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
  • She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
  • Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
Washmen Profile

Date Started: May 2015

Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Laundry

Employees: 170

Funding: about $8m

Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures

ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA

Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi

Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser

Rating: 4.5/5

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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
At a glance

- 20,000 new jobs for Emiratis over three years

- Dh300 million set aside to train 18,000 jobseekers in new skills

- Managerial jobs in government restricted to Emiratis

- Emiratis to get priority for 160 types of job in private sector

- Portion of VAT revenues will fund more graduate programmes

- 8,000 Emirati graduates to do 6-12 month replacements in public or private sector on a Dh10,000 monthly wage - 40 per cent of which will be paid by government

Emirates Cricket Board Women’s T10

ECB Hawks v ECB Falcons

Monday, April 6, 7.30pm, Sharjah Cricket Stadium

The match will be broadcast live on the My Sports Eye Facebook page

 

Hawks

Coach: Chaitrali Kalgutkar

Squad: Chaya Mughal (captain), Archara Supriya, Chamani Senevirathne, Chathurika Anand, Geethika Jyothis, Indhuja Nandakumar, Kashish Loungani, Khushi Sharma, Khushi Tanwar, Rinitha Rajith, Siddhi Pagarani, Siya Gokhale, Subha Srinivasan, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish

 

Falcons

Coach: Najeeb Amar

Squad: Kavisha Kumari (captain), Almaseera Jahangir, Annika Shivpuri, Archisha Mukherjee, Judit Cleetus, Ishani Senavirathne, Lavanya Keny, Mahika Gaur, Malavika Unnithan, Rishitha Rajith, Rithika Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Shashini Kaluarachchi, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Vaishnave Mahesh

 

 

ABU DHABI CARD

5pm: UAE Martyrs Cup (TB) Conditions; Dh90,000; 2,200m
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap; Dh70,000; 1,400m​​​​​​​
6pm: UAE Matyrs Trophy (PA) Maiden; Dh80,000; 1,600m​​​​​​​
6.30pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak (IFAHR) Apprentice Championship (PA) Prestige; Dh100,000; 1,600m​​​​​​​
7pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak (IFAHR) Ladies World Championship (PA) Prestige; Dh125,000; 1,600m​​​​​​​
8pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown (PA) Group 1; Dh5,000,000; 1,600m