As the use of smartphones and tablets on 4G LTE networks has grown dramatically, the demand for mobile data services has also increased. 5G is the wireless and mobile industry’s solution that will provide high quality mobile data services to satisfy mobile consumers’ demands, as well as the need for widespread IoT (Internet of Things) connectivity.
5G is an ecosystem, defined by ITU-R’s IMT-2020 5G standard that has the goal of improving the connectivity experience of the mobile consumer and enterprise.
The first 5G networks are not expected to be deployed before 2020, with the first commercial services launched in 2021.
However, the current LTE and LTE-Advanced network, including all improvements made to them between now and 2020, will lay the foundation for the 5G network. Unless the ground work is completed with LTE in the next few years, 5G IMT-2020 will not be launched commercially by 2021.

�How is the 5G market expected to develop globally? And how much bandwidth will IMT-2020 networks likely have to deliver?
iGR, a market research consultancy focused on the wireless and mobile industry, has recently published a market study that answers these questions. The study presents a model for the global development of 5G markets from 2021 to 2026, including the number of 5G connections and the amount of data used on the 5G networks in each region of the world. This model estimates that 5G connections based on the IMT-2020 standard will start slowly in 2021 and grow to 1.3 billion in 2026.
“Although much of the discussion surrounding 5G has involved the Internet of Things, 5G is expected to be used for many other use case scenarios, as well,” said Iain Gillott, President and Founder of iGR who is chairing the second day of 5G World in London this week.
“By looking at the many potential uses, services, and applications, iGR has built a model of how the 5G networks and markets could develop — both in the number of connections and in the amount of bandwidth used.”

Samsung Electronics has announced plans to spend $1.2 billion over 4 years for U.S. based Internet of Things (IoT) R&D and investments. This will be led by the Samsung Strategy and Innovation Center, Global Innovation Center and Samsung Research America.
Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman & CEO, Dr. Oh-Hyun Kwon called for his peers to “start talking and thinking differently about IoT,” with a human-centered approach, embracing the life-changing possibilities of the technology and working together to bring these benefits to society at-large.
“I am excited to show how we are moving IoT to the center of our strategy and am delighted to announce that Samsung is planning to spend $1.2 billion in U.S.-centered IoT investments and R&D over the next 4 years,” said Vice Chairman Kwon.
In his keynote Vice Chairman Kwon offered industry and policymakers two principles in addition to a ‘human-centered’ approach: to be open and collaborative.
“If we want innovators everywhere to make use of IoT, we must make sure all tools are open to them. This means technologies that connect to each other, because we know that boundaries around technologies hold back innovation and scale,” the Vice Chairman said.
He also warned that sector-specific regulations would inherently fragment the development of IoT, impeding devices and platforms from connecting to each other.
As the IoT ecosystem is by nature connected and interwoven, collaboration is vital to promoting this level of openness and interconnection. In this vein, Vice Chairman Kwon urged attendees to pursue cross-sector dialogue and partnerships, and announced Samsung’s role as a co-founder of the newly launched National IoT Strategy Dialogue.
The Dialogue, to be hosted by the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), will design a National IoT Strategy as a tool to inform policymakers on enabling the technology to deliver benefits for individuals, communities, innovators and the U.S. economy.
This announcement, Vice Chairman Kwon reinforced, “is not about the first steps – that’s because IoT is already happening all around us. It’s time to imagine the transformative potential of IoT for our societies – and learn how to achieve its human, social benefits at scale.”
The event is part of Vision for Tomorrow, Samsung’s recently launched public affairs platform for cross-sector collaboration around issues affecting the policy dialogue in the U.S. and around the world.

The Middle East and Africa (MEA) wearables market experienced a 65.3% year-on-year growth in shipments in the first quarter of 2016, according to global technology research and consulting firm International Data Corporation (IDC). IDC tracks seven major countries across MEA, and shipments into these countries totaled 419,925 units in Q1 2016.
“The growth of the wearables market provides a rare ray of light amid an overall downturn for personal computing in the region,” says Nakul Dogra, a Senior Research Analyst for Personal Computing, Systems, and Infrastructure Solutions at IDC Middle East, Africa, and Turkey.
“This growth has been spurred by a number of factors, including declining average selling prices, new product launches, the entrance of lower-cost wearables, and the introduction of sleeker designs.”
Smart wearables, which are classified as devices capable of running third-party applications, are still finding their feet in the market as many consumers continue to view the devices as too expensive for the features and functions they offer. As such, most of the growth in this segment of the market stems from the increasing popularity of smart watches.
Basic wearables, which are not capable of running third-party applications, continue to dominate the overall MEA wearables market with 71% unit share versus 29% for smart wearables. This dominance can be attributed to the growing popularity of fitness bands, which have been flooding into the market for a while now, proving to be a big hit with consumers.
The future of the MEA wearables market looks bright with IDC forecasting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.1% for the 2016–2020 period. This growth will primarily be driven by increased adoption of smart watches and wristbands as these devices evolve to become more sophisticated than simple health and fitness trackers.
“The growth will be further augmented by the launch of new wearable products in the clothing, eyewear, earwear categories, among others,” says Fouad Rafiq Charakla, a Senior Research Manager for Personal Computing, Systems, and Infrastructure Solutions at IDC Middle East, Africa, and Turkey.
“IDC expects vendors to step up their new product launches in the MEA market as share gain becomes the name of the game. We also anticipate new operating systems and versatile pools of applications to emerge in order to support all these new devices.”
These are exciting times for the wearables market, with niche and mass-market introductions set to change the way we interact with technology in our day-to-day lives.
To keep pace with the changes taking place in this fast-moving market, IDC has launched its Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker, which helps vendors looking to enter this market, promote new product developments, or accelerate the growth of their wearables divisions.
The tracker includes details on products, vendors, and technology trends at both global and country lev-els, as well as historical market data and five-year forecasts.
The report also provides valuable insights into the adoption of core wearable features, such as form factor, connectivity, sensors, operating sys-tems, and applications, and offers invaluable assistance to tech firms looking to develop successful long-term business strategies for wearable devices.

In an update to its Worldwide Semi-annual Internet of Things Spending Guide, International Data Corporation (IDC) forecasts that organisations in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) will invest more than $6.6 billion in Internet of Things (IoT) hardware, software, services, and connectivity in 2016.
The global ICT consulting and advisory services firm expects IoT revenues in the region to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.3% over the next four years to total more than $14.3 billion in 2020.
Manufacturing and transportation are the vertical industries leading the way in terms of IoT investment in MEA, with both expected to spend an estimated $1.1 billion each in 2016. The next largest industry, utilities, is expected to see IoT investments of almost $800 million this year. The IoT use cases receiving the greatest levels of investment from MEA organisations across these three industries are:
• Manufacturing Operations, which supports digitally-executed manufacturing, or how manufacturers use intelligent and interconnected input/output tools (sensors, actuators, drives, vision/video equipment etc.) to enable different components in the manufacturing field (e.g. machine tools, robots, conveyor belts) to autonomously exchange information, trigger actions, and control each other independently.
• Freight Monitoring, which uses RFID, GPS, GPRS, and GIS technologies to create an intelligent, Internet-connected transportation system. This system carries out the intelligent recognition, location, tracking, and monitoring of freight and cargo by exchanging information and real-time communications via wireless, satellite, or other channels.
• Smart Grid (Electricity), where non-smart meter field devices owned by the electric utility are used to control and optimize power flow to ensure efficient, safe, and reliable service. The devices are used throughout the electricity distribution grid for tasks such as line sensing, substation automation, and feeder & line equipment control and optimisation. Utility owned in-home devices are included in this category when used for grid operations.
Looking across all industries in the MEA region, freight monitoring will receive the greatest level of IoT investment throughout the forecast period, followed by smart grid (electricity) and manufacturing operations.
In addition to these use cases, remote health monitoring, smart buildings, and smart home concepts will see significant levels of investment over the next few years. The IoT use cases that will experience the greatest revenue growth over the 2016–2020 forecast period are smart buildings, insurance telematics, and smart grid (gas).
“IoT solution deployments across MEA will continue to see increased adoption rates, both in the public and private sectors, as stakeholders begin to realize an immediate return on their investments,” says Wale Babalola, a Research Analyst for Telecommunications, IoT, and Digital Media at IDC Middle East, Africa, and Turkey.
“In addition, the growing development of purpose-built IoT platforms and the continuing proliferation of smart devices will serve as catalysts for IoT adoption across the region’s industry spectrum.”
While manufacturing and transportation will lead the way in terms of overall IoT investments in the MEA region, six industries will see IoT spending levels increase by more than 100% over the 2016–2020 forecast period – construction, consumer, insurance, manufacturing, retail, and telecommunications. Cross-industry investments, which represent use cases common to all industries, are also forecast to see revenues more than double during this period.
“A use case represents a detailed composition of a technology investment that is made to produce a set of end-user benefits,” says Marcus Torchia, Research Manager for IoT within IDC’s Customer Insights and Analysis team.
“The long-term opportunity for IoT vendors is helping to identify and create immediate and residual benefits for end users through their technologies. We see strong opportunities across many industries. For example, in highly instrumented verticals like manufacturing and transportation, large data sets are used to optimize operational processes and extend the life of high-capital cost assets. In other sectors like healthcare and consumer, IoT technology is being used to produce benefits that improve quality of life.”
The Worldwide Semiannual Internet of Things Spending Guide forecasts IoT revenues for 12 technologies and 47 use cases across 20 vertical industries in eight regions and 52 countries. Unlike any other research in the industry, the comprehensive spending guide was designed to help vendors clearly understand the industry-specific opportunity for IoT technologies today.