5G technology and its impact this 2023

Gayan Koralage, Director of Group Strategy & Acting Country Managing Director Sri Lanka at EDOTCO Group, shares about the impact of 5G technology in Asia in 2023 and beyond. The pandemic has greatly impacted internet usage in Asia, leading to a monthly average of 12 GB per capita and an extra 30 minutes of screen time each day. However, millions of people in countries like Malaysia, Bangladesh, and Philippines still do not have access to a proper internet.

One major trend in Asia is the move from 3G to 5G technology, which promises to increase internet speeds by tenfold and allow for not only human-to-human communication, but also machine-to-machine and machine-to-human communication. The deployment of 5G, however, comes with its own challenges, as it requires three times the number of telecom structures and energy as 4G. This decade-long journey of 5G deployment is already underway in countries like Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, and Indonesia, but it will take a few more years for other Asian countries to catch up.

Koralage believes that Malaysia's telecommunications industry has reached the halfway point in their 5G deployment, but it will take longer for other Asian countries to reach this point. In the long run, Koralage envisions 5G coexisting with 4G and 6G technologies, with 6G taking machine-to-machine communication to new heights. Emerging and frontier markets still need to invest in 4G before moving on to 5G. In conclusion, the future of telecommunications in Asia looks bright with the integration of advanced technologies like 5G and 6G.