{"id":2426,"date":"2021-08-25T09:12:54","date_gmt":"2021-08-25T08:12:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/squire-technologies.co.uk\/blog\/?p=2426"},"modified":"2022-05-24T15:00:05","modified_gmt":"2022-05-24T14:00:05","slug":"virtual-reality-in-the-remote-office-over-5g-dream-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/squire-technologies.co.uk\/blog\/virtual-reality-in-the-remote-office-over-5g-dream-on","title":{"rendered":"Virtual Reality in the Remote Office Over 5G? Dream on"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Virtual reality in the remote <\/span>office over 5G? Dream on<\/span><\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
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5G is a game-changer, but don\u2019t be distracted by the <\/span>speculation about augmented reality offices for remote <\/span>working. Focus on what matters \u2013 better conventional <\/span>networks and private 5G for demanding use cases.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Published in Connect-World Europe II (July 2021)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Sanjeev Verma is CEO of Squire Technologies and a widely-recognised leader within the global telecoms industry. With more than 20 years\u2019 experience, his activities span multiple markets and leading operators from around the world, from Africa, Asia, Polynesia, LatAm, to the Caribbean, as well as UK and Europe. As the telecoms industry has advanced Sanjeev has kept abreast of changing technologies and Squire Technologies now offer SS7 to VoIP to VoLTE \/ LTE and now to 5G.<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
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5G will enable commercial projects to achieve results that were not before possible and Sanjeev has a wealth of expertise on how this new technology will see our smart cities, offices and even the cars we drive become more intelligent and enable society to live a more streamlined lifestyle. Sanjeev believes that 5G will offer connectivity on a new scale where IoT enabled devices will create a futuristic new world where everything will become automated or controlled via a smart phone or device.<\/p>\n

After completing a Bachelor\u2019s degree in Electronics & Communications Engineering, Sanjeev began his career as an engineer and quickly leveraged his technical expertise to become a strategic advisor to start-ups and established players. Subsequently, he has closed numerous multi-million sterling deals, building an outstanding reputation for both tech savvy and market insight. Through working with the largest operators \u2013 such as AT&T, Vodafone, T-Mobile and the like \u2013 as well as the smallest, Sanjeev brings a unique perspective to the industry.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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5<\/span>G is touted as a game-changer that will <\/span>deliver unprecedented performance, enable <\/span>a wide range of new applications, and <\/span>unlock huge value for national economies. <\/span>While some of this will be true, commentators<\/span>\u00a0often overlook some important details. <\/span>This matters \u2013 hugely \u2013 because 5G is <\/span>expensive. To ensure that the appropriate <\/span>returns on investment are secured, we <\/span>cannot waste time on activities that divert <\/span>attention, and which are unlikely to deliver <\/span>the expected dividends.<\/span><\/div>\n

Take speculation regarding new ways of <\/span>working that has grown markedly since the <\/span>beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, for <\/span>example. If we can\u2019t come to the office, <\/span>let\u2019s take the office to us, runs the <\/span>argument. This is based on the \u2013 in <\/span>fairness, rather interesting idea \u2013 that <\/span>augmented reality could enable home <\/span>workers to participate in a virtual office <\/span>landscape.<\/p>\n

<\/span>By using a headset, employees distanced <\/span>from each other in their home offices, can <\/span>experience a virtual recreation of their <\/span>office environment and encounter each <\/span>other from their respective desks. A sort of <\/span>professional version of SimCity awaits. <\/span>Such a solution could, in theory, be enabled <\/span>by 5G networks, which can support the <\/span>bandwidth and latency requirements that <\/span>are necessary in order to make this work. <\/span>While augmented reality undoubtedly has <\/span>its uses \u2013 think remote healthcare, for <\/span>example, such speculation is an unhelpful <\/span>distraction from the real value of 5G.<\/p>\n

<\/span>The virtual reality office is, in fact, a <\/span>classic example of missing the point <\/span>completely. There are two key reasons <\/span>why. First, technical. During the <\/span>lockdowns, we\u2019ve all adapted to an <\/span>increased use of conferencing platforms <\/span>for meetings. We\u2019ve all noticed that performance<\/span>\u00a0can be <\/span>variable. Sometimes<\/span>, it\u2019s great; <\/span>on others, much <\/span>less so. Occasionally<\/span>, it\u2019s plain <\/span>awful.<\/p>\n

<\/span>That\u2019s nothing to <\/span>do with the <\/span>platform (well, it <\/span>shouldn\u2019t be) but <\/span>it\u2019s a lot to do with <\/span>the connectivity <\/span>available to us. <\/span>While many have <\/span>fibre, others have DSL \u2013 which means the <\/span>problem is more likely to be found in the <\/span>last mile. We all live in different places and <\/span>are able to obtain different levels of broadband<\/span>\u00a0access. 5G isn\u2019t going to fix that on its <\/span>own. Here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Any augmented reality application requires exceptional performance to ensure a consistent experience. One that is real-time demands what we term \u201clow latency\u201d. 5G can deliver this, but to do so, it requires a lot of radio cells. Many, many times more than today\u2019s mobile networks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And, 5G coverage is a compromise <\/span>between the highest performance and the <\/span>widest coverage. To obtain the best performance<\/span>\u00a0\u2013 that is the fastest speeds and the <\/span>lowest latency, we need to use a specific set <\/span>of radio frequencies \u2013 but the problem is <\/span>that these can\u2019t travel very far. In fact, the <\/span>maximum range for these is about 500 <\/span>metres.<\/p>\n

So, to deliver the kinds of performance that augmented reality might demand, you need to put a lot of cells very close to the source of demand \u2013 in this case, our houses. By contrast, 4G \u2013 which is perfectly good enough for most conferencing platforms today \u2013 can travel up to 16 km (OK, so performance may not be maintained for that distance, but you can see the point). Sure, there will be 5G coverage available with the required performance characteristics for some, but it won\u2019t be available for all. The alternative is to deploy lots of fibre to the home, but there\u2019s no guarantee that this will actually happen and, generally speaking, 5G is seen as a quick route to delivering high-speed, fibre-like connectivity. The trouble is that this is misleading, because even if you can deploy lots of cells, these still require fibre to connect them back to the servers that process applications (such as our digital twin of the office).<\/p>\n

The notion, therefore, that people working from home will simply be able to use 5G to access such services uniformly and replicate some kind of office-like experience via virtual reality headsets and augmented reality is amusing and fun \u2013 but it\u2019s nonsense. Worse, it\u2019s a distraction from some much more interesting use cases for 5G and some problems that need to be addressed now. <\/p>\n

Second, with the best will in the world, this isn\u2019t going to replicate the office experience at all. People may grumble about being in the office and may have adapted to new ways of working, but let\u2019s not forget there is a whole host of reasons why regular contact in the office is desirable. <\/p>\n

Not only does it benefit individuals, who thrive on human contact and interaction, it\u2019s also part of the personality and culture of an organisation \u2013 which, in turn, is essential to its strength and success. Everyone has their own experience but to suggest that all of these experiences can be translated into a virtual world is absurd. It is conceivable that a planned meeting might benefit from such an immersive experience, but what about the water cooler? The coffee break? How do you capture all of the myriad of interactions that happen outside the meeting rooms via a virtual environment? <\/p>\n

The short answer is: \u201cyou probably can\u2019t\u201d. The chit-chat, the review of the most recent blockbuster, last night\u2019s match, all the things that contribute to human relationships cannot be included in a shared online world. <\/p>\n

No, the answer to this problem is just better conventional connectivity in the local loop \u2013 more fibre, more creative use of wireless LTE to deliver broadband of good enough quality, and more creative packages to support remote workers. A better broadband network, built on today\u2019s technologies would do far more to support remote working and new, hybrid models which see people spending a proportion of their time in their home offices, and the rest in their designated workplace than a utopian vision of workers equipped with virtual reality headsets engaging with colleagues from their kitchens. It is, to be frank, a waste of time and a distraction that helps nobody.<\/p>\n

The same argument is applicable to most countries. Coverage and connectivity will trump localised performance for users in general. 5G for consumers is one thing and will, undoubtedly bring benefits, but opera-tors will always be faced with this compromise of coverage vs speed, and the cost calculations that drive network rollout. So, what does that mean for 5G?<\/p>\n

Well, operators need to focus on delivering coverage that brings practical benefits. While there are numerous fun applications that will grab headlines and pique the curiosity of analysts and businesses, the truth is that few of these are likely to be game-changing. It\u2019s time for a frank discussion rather than hyping something that will not deliver \u2013 for both technical and social reasons. <\/p>\n

So, why do we care about 5G? The simple truth is that these very high performance capabilities lend themselves to a host of industrial applications. And, the clue is in the limited range over which the highest speeds can be delivered. The best performing networks will be clustered and localised. There will be hotspots \u2013 which, in turn, opens up a whole new market opportunity for stakeholders in the mobile ecosystem: private 5G networks. <\/p>\n

The performance that 5G brings will be essential for enabling new applications in factories, mines, ports, hospitals, TV studios, power stations and so on. The best coverage with the best performance will be localised and, in all likelihood, self-contained. 5G enables demanding applications to be delivered without the expense of wires (and the cost of replacing them) but since the best performance requires everything to be closely located (cells in the factory and processors close by connected by fibre), the real 5G network won\u2019t be the consumer offer, delivered nationally, but islands of connectivity that are delivered exclusively for a specific set of users and applications, in a specific location.<\/p>\n

The trouble with interesting but ultimately pointless speculation about augmented reality offices is that it builds unhelpful expectations. The press seizes on such notions and presents them as \u201cemerging trends\u201d or trails headlines, such as \u201ccoming to an office near you!\u201d. Amidst this bruha-ha, the real value of 5G gets lost and scepticism of the things it can actually \u2013 and usefully \u2013 do rises. <\/p>\n

5G can do many things, but focusing on trivial applications doesn\u2019t help the industry. Let\u2019s focus instead on building out better connectivity today, with an already powerful toolkit, while those who really need 5G can focus on their specific use cases. At the same time, network operators need to focus on their existing customers and investing in networks that, while they have proven to be resilient, deliver highly variable performance for even basic collaboration tools. <\/p>\n

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Close the digital divide between town and <\/span>city, invest in extended broadband <\/span>networks and introduce new <\/span>quality-backed offers. Sure, 5G is developing<\/span> fast, but it\u2019s not needed in the traditional<\/span>\u00a0office and it\u2019s unlikely to help remote <\/span>workers, dispersed in often rural locations.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Connect-World magazines
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