Page 56 - World Airnews Magazine April 2020 Edition

FEATURE

HOW WILL 5G TRANSFORM

AIR TRAVEL?

processing solution, such as Smart Path and smart tugs and baggage carts. Wheelchairs,

baggage management and the uptake of 5G mobile kiosks, and robotic assistants will be

ith download speeds of up to will provide many more opportunities.” controlled remotely.

W400MB per second, 5G will 5G is coming fast. According to CSS It is not all about bandwidth. 5G’s low la-
be a game-changer. SITA, a leading IT pro- Insight data*, there will be 340 million tency will make autonomous vehicles much
vider for the air transport industry, makes 5G connections globally by 2021 and a safer. With signals going up to 100 times

six predictions about how this ultra-fast staggering 2.7 billion by 2025, mostly in faster than 4G, the speed of digital instruc-

network will change the way airports, developed markets. In money terms, in the tions will make the difference between a

airlines and passengers behave. aviation industry 5G amounted to just (US) vehicle travelling tens of metres or just a few

Based on unique IT insights and emerging 0.2 billion in 2019 but is projected to reach centimetres before taking corrective action.
air transport industry technology trends (US) 4.2 billion by 2026. Fast forward: how 5G WILL POWER AIR TRANSPORT-
SITA’s predictions follow hot on the heels of will we use 5G in 2025? SPECIFIC AI APPLICATIONS

5G trials like the recent ones carried out by 5G WILL BE THE LIFEBLOOD OF IOT

both London Gatwick Airport and Beijing’s 5G connected Artificial Intelligence (AI)
new Daxing International Airport services 5G will soon be commonplace at airports will solve major pain points at airports

which signpost our entry into a new era of and the idea of everything intelligently and borders. For example, biometrically
ultra-connected air travel. connected to everything will be viable. matching passengers to their bags will

The adoption of 5G technologies is grad- The Internet of Things (IoT) brings the in- be simple. AI will be able to recognize

ually making its way into Africa as well. Be- herent need to manage increasing amounts unique scuff marks, creases, and material
characteristics to distinguish between

ginning this year commercial 5G networks of objects and therefore data. Today’s 4G seemingly identical bags and match them

were deployed in Lesotho and South Africa. technology can manage around 10,000 de-
However, technology company, Ericsson vices in each square kilometre; a 5G network to the correct passenger.

predicts that 5G adoption will accelerate can manage a million. Multiple objects at AI-assisted computer vision will continu-

considerably on the continent. Over the airports will interact with people and ob- ally scan boarding gate areas and intel-
next six years, Africa and the Middle East jects will interact among themselves. ligently predict capacity issues for hand

are expected to have the highest growth With 5G, connectivity will be much luggage on flights and enable staff to act

rate in 5G availability in the world. more fluid and flexible. The new networks accordingly before boarding.

Gilles Bloch-Morhange, vice president will enable massive data flows, providing 5G WILL DRIVE OPERATIONAL

SITA platform said, “5G is already enhanc- secure, real-time, predictive and historic EFFICIENCY, INCREASE ANCILLARY

ing our existing applications at airports, for views of airport operations. This will make REVENUES AND CUT COSTS

aircraft communications, airport opera- collaboration between airports, airlines, Putting IoT and 5G together will offer great

tions, baggage management, and of course ground handlers, air traffic managers and opportunities for airlines and airports to

passenger processing. And it’s impossible concession holders easier and effective. unlock the value of all their data to deliver
to talk about 5G without discussing Inter- The result will be the intelligent monitor-

net of Things, Artificial Intelligence and the ing of queues throughout the airport and tangible business benefits.

other applications it enables. We’re already tracking and controlling autonomous vehi- All airport assets will be connected,

using 4G for IoT applications for several ap- cles that assist passenger journeys. Vehicles making monitoring efficiency and optimiz-
plications around our biometric passenger on the ramp will be served by connected ing usage much simpler. It will, for example,

World Airnews | April 2020
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