Page 109 - SAMENA Trends - November-December 2019

ARTICLE SAMENA TRENDS

Smart cities will typically have a large While 5G technology is What are some challenges of large-scale
number of installed sensors and devices 5G implementation for smart cities?
with a high density. And 5G will deliver secured by design and The 5G opportunity brings serious
the mass connectivity to enable the has several enhanced challenges that mobile operators need
deployment of millions of these devices, to prepare for now, such as ensuring
such as sensors required for a smart mechanisms and capabi- interoperability across earlier generations
city to collate crucial data from different lities for security, these of networks as well as across multiple
utility systems as well as support the must be carefully managed, networks of roaming partners. Ultimately,
connection density and capacity density disparate network technologies will have
required. Moreover, the IoT sensor devices especially in a hybrid to be able to work together to power
in a smart city environment will have environment continuous connectivity between the IoT
many diverse requirements in terms of and other connected devices. There’s also
throughput, latency, reliability and mobility. and capabilities for security, these must be the regulation side. This includes things
5G will provide faster, more reliable, and carefully managed, especially in a hybrid like how 5G will affect roaming across
lower-latency networking connectivity environment. With the adoption of 5G
required for many advanced use cases for technology by a multitude of industries, the The 5G opportunity brings
IoT, especially in the URLLC and massive attack surface increases multifold, despite
IoT categories. Ultimately, this next- that fact that 5G is much more secure, and serious challenges that
generation technology standard will serve the risks are much higher as a result. mobile operators need to
as the basis for effective deployment
of small-cell networks that can power Whether it’s a smart city that uses prepare for now, such as
an extensively interconnected wireless connected cameras and intelligent ensuring interoperability
infrastructure needed for a smart city. sensors to improve traffic flows, or smart across earlier generations
homes that proactively alert owners of
5G will provide faster, more impending problems, every new connected of networks as well as
reliable, and lower-latency device adds to the number of entries across multiple networks
in a network that can easily turn into
networking connect- a cybersecurity threat if not managed of roaming partners.
ivity required for many properly. These threats have different borders, especially in Europe, which will
origins, from more advanced attacks from
advanced use cases for IoT, educated cybercriminals, to more simple need to be discussed and clearly defined
especially in the URLLC and cases of human error. Generally, today’s in the service-level agreements between
massive IoT categories. rising cyberattack incidents are strongly providers and customers. This must
also be applied to the liability regarding
connected to the public internet’s open
access. A vast amount of highly sensitive any problem that might arise with the
How will 5G change a city’s cybersecurity data is channeled through weak networks implementation of this new technology in a
positioning? and clouds that were not designed to 4G world. One of the significant challenges
Implementing high-speed, low-latency protect data from such sophisticated for the IoT industry is the heterogeneity and
5G networks will add a new layer of threats. That’s why there is a growing fragmentation of connectivity landscape,
connectivity, but also a new layer of need for private networks that are isolated and this has hampered the IoT vision
complexity, because it will increase the from the public internet and can identify significantly. There is a strong expectation
numbers of devices that will need to and manage elements and assets in their that 5G will mitigate this.
be connected and communicate with environments in a secure way.
each other. When critical assets and
infrastructure services deployed in smart One of the significant challenges for the IoT industry is the
cities rely on 5G networks, they must be
safeguarded under all situations at all heterogeneity and fragmentation of connectivity landscape,
costs – the stakes couldn’t be higher. and this has hampered the IoT vision significantly. There is
While 5G technology is secured by design
and has several enhanced mechanisms a strong expectation that 5G will mitigate this.

109 NOVEMBER 2019