Spectators at the Winter Olympics in South Korea are getting a preview of the next-generation, ultra-fast wireless networks coming to other nations in the next year or two.
Bloomberg this week detailed the global debut of 5G technology, developed by Intel, Ericsson, Samsung and Korean carrier KT Corp., in and around Pyeongchang.
The systems allow viewers to stream live video of figure skating from any angle or experience bobsled races from the hood of the sled. Driverless buses, meanwhile, course through the area using 5G networks to navigate roads — and display 5G video to passengers.
But perhaps most importantly for the host nation, the preliminary 5G networks can instantly deploy alarms or other deterrents to scare off any nearby wild boars, which can ravage crops and potentially endanger human safety.
“World’s first or not, 5G means nothing if it doesn’t help us do better farming,” local administrator Kim Hyun-ji told Bloomberg. “We’re glad we will no longer need to rely on hunters and electric wires.”
The network will be shut down after the games, the report added, as developers work to resolve any issues and prepare for wider deployment in South Korea in 2019.