5G as a Digital Transformation Accelerant

The United States leads the world in adopting 5G technology for communications and wireless internet access, thanks to its high speed, low latency, and increased bandwidth access. This has provided a huge boost to digital transformation in both the public and private sectors. For instance, the rapid adoption of edge computing can be attributed to 5G’s superior qualities.

The spread of 5G was accelerated by the pandemic, as agencies and businesses alike had to transition to a work-from-home environment, requiring at-home workers to have the same network performance and access as they did in the office. In today’s environment, 5G holds the potential to bridge the digital divide that separates those living in rural locales from the services and employment opportunities found in more urban settings. And the advent of 5G Advanced supports new use cases and verticals, such as extended-reality (XR) devices, sustainable network design, quantum communication, and new models for edge/fog computing.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the differences between 4G LTE and 5G technologies and why 5G is so revolutionary
• Identify potential use cases for 5G in digital transformation of government at all levels
• Review the impact of 5G on the efficiency, agility, and intelligence of systems and process in the government sector
• Outline 5G’s role in facilitating the emergence of other new technologies, including AI and machine learning