The fifth-generation wireless network, 5G, has been making a worldwide debut at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. Among other things, the technology is being used to ward off the local wildlife, including wild pigs that roam the mountainous region around the Games – with fast-acting systems that shoot rays, spew gases and emit tiger roars.
South Korea’s attempt to showcase the first-in-the-world commercial use of the 5G technology is not scheduled to roll out globally until 2020. At the Games, shuttle buses run with no humans at the wheel, and 360-degree images in real time show competing figure skaters.
At 10 gigabits a second, 5G can send a full-length high-definition movie in seconds. The Pyeongchang showcase, engineered by South Korean telecom carrier KT Corp, uses technology from Intel, Ericsson and Samsung.
