By Chris Buchanan, Client Solutions Director, Dell Technologies South Africa
The ultra-fast speeds and superior reliability of 5G technology have the potential to transform industries, organisations and people. Understandably, 5G is at the centre of organisations’ efforts to futureproof their IT environments.
5G is a transformation journey, not an overnight upgrade. However, important milestones are being reached on an ongoing basis, particularly as the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has confirmed that its auction of the 5G spectrum has kicked off.
This means that if you are investing in laptops today, the best strategy is to make sure they are 5G ready. That way, when the spectrum is activated you won’t need to spend more time and money to start using 5G.
And, because Dell’s priority is to deliver a rich, seamless experience that leverages the power of 5G for our enterprise customers, our Wireless WAN-enabled products already have the capability to run on 5G without requiring a costly upgrade. For example, our Latitude 9510 device, the first 5G-capable business PC with Intel vPro on the market1, offers IT administrators an enterprise-grade level 5G device for their organisations, giving executives and mobile professionals access to ultra-fast 5G speeds and reliable connectivity.
With Dell’s 5G-ready devices now available, we are primed to further innovate always-connected and secured smart mobility solutions for organisations as well as the smart knowledge worker of the future.
While we are still in the early days of 5G, we look to a future of ultra-fast networks that have the potential to transform industries, organisations and people. Why?
Organisations are future proofing now: When the rush to work-from-home kicked off, organisations and their IT departments transformed where and how their employees worked almost overnight. As we transition to a work from anywhere world, IT departments don’t want to be caught flat-footed. IT administrators want to know the devices they are deploying will support their employees 3-5 years from now.
Our internal customer research shows that IT administrators are focused on providing amazing connectivity and collaboration experiences, with 5G being a crucial component in enabling fast, secure and reliable connectivity wherever employees are working. In fact, only 4% of IT decision makers surveyed said they would not need 5G capabilities available on their organisation’s premium laptops². It’s hard to future proof without 5G.
Innovation begets innovation: Trying to imagine the positive impact 5G will have on our society feels endless, but it has spurred much innovation in our device team. Our goal for the Latitude 9510 was to design the ultimate experience for business users, with AI to boost productivity, machined aluminium materials for an ultra-premium look and feel, and 5G to offer the best connectivity options available.
Delivering 5G signals through a metallic device was a sizeable challenge. Thin, light systems provide limited options for antenna placement in the system base, especially when a full metallic enclosure is required and antenna isolation from the base’s internal electronics is critical to performance. Many competitors paint magnesium on the device to hide antenna regions or simply increase the borders of the display so antennas can be built around the screen, but we knew there had to be a better way.
Thinking outside the box, our engineers came up with a smart design that cleverly incorporates 5G antennas into the speakers within the system’s base patent. The co-moulded plastic trim ring around the speaker looks like an aesthetic design feature, but it provides an advantage by allowing us to pack antennas into the speaker area, so there’s no compromise on being small and having a good connection.
5G is about more than the device in your hand: Our early 5G tests show that the Dell Latitude 9510 can provide up to 300% improvement in download speeds over 4G³. But there’s more to 5G than speed. The reliability and security it offers mobile executives and professionals over Wi-Fi hotspots will transform productivity during travel. 5G will boost capacity and performance for mobile broadband, provide real-time edge compute capacity, and provide purpose-built connectivity for end devices.
The improved wireless capability of 5G networking will bring new use cases and applications, expanding the array of devices, IoT use cases, and services beyond what is possible today. Think automated surveillance of industrial sites, remote maintenance in factories, remote telesurgery, autonomous driving and 3D manufacturing with collaborating industrial robots. It’s more than the 5G device – it’s about the possibilities 5G can enable.
¹Based on Dell analysis of business PCs, August 2020. 5G module is optional and must be selected at purchase. 4G and 3G Backwards compatible. Actual speeds will vary depending on carrier network, users, location and other factors. Subject to service provider’s subscription and coverage area. Additional charges will apply. Contact service provider for details.
²Based on Dell Internal Research, May 2020 of 101 IT Decision Makers surveyed.
³Based on Dell analysis, May 2020, comparing max download speeds on prior generation cellular radio (4G SDX20) supporting up to 1.0 Gbps vs 5G SDX55 supporting up to 4.0 Gbps. 5G network required. Actual speeds will vary depending on carrier network, users, location and other factors. Subject to service provider’s subscription and coverage area. Additional charges will apply. Contact your service provider for details.
