5G Lab Set to Land in Newcastle – Here’s What We Know
5G Lab Set to Land in Newcastle – Here’s What We Know
At the tail end of March, it was announced that a £700,000 lab was opening in Newcastle’s Eldon Square.
Known as a ‘5G Immersive Lab’, and run by Digital Catapult, this is a site that aims to show businesses how 5G networks can benefit their companies, with wireless technology and new, advanced hardware being exhibited and regular sessions being run to demonstrate their effectiveness to different sectors.
The Untapped Potential of 5G
According to mayor Jamie Driscoll, one of the reasons this new lab is so exciting is because ‘we don’t yet know the full capabilities of 5G’ and what it will mean for different companies across various industries.
This is true, of course. One of the industries that we’re aware of 5G having an immediate effect is the iGaming market. Here, companies like BetMGM Casino can benefit from the 5G capabilities by ensuring a fast and more reliable network for players, solving the problem of high latency and buffering that can interrupt the overall gaming experience.
For platforms utilising mobile apps to reach a broader user base, 5G is a huge advancement that ensures higher speed, higher bandwidth, enhanced security, and flexibility for real-time data access and processing. These sorts of business moves have been heavily publicised, but it’s important to note that 5G can revolutionise every industry – not just industries based online or in ‘the cloud’.
5G Across Industries
Across north-east England, 5G is being utilised for multiple businesses, and the list of those 5G-operating businesses is only growing.
The Port of Tyne, for instance, is using 5G for advanced shipment tracking through its port. Agricultural firms are using 5G to monitor and connect multiple crops on one network, and the Sunderland City Council has installed a public 5G network for creative events.
The 5G lab is looking to capitalise on this growing number of these businesses, demonstrating how technology can solve problems that have been prominent throughout the 3G and 4G era. It will do this by providing access to the latest advancements in 5G technology, including hardware advancements like virtual reality and augmented reality.
By getting hands-on with these advancements, local businesses and industries in Newcastle have been given a definitive ‘testing ground’, providing an opportunity to find solutions and innovations in a real-world environment.
How Can 5G Help Companies?
Speaking of virtual reality and augmented reality, this is just one of the technological innovations that 5G has bolstered, providing ultra-low latency and high bandwidth to give the tech more definitive use cases.
Whether it’s for marketing, training, retail, prototyping, or customer experience enhancement, VR tech can provide numerous benefits when implemented effectively into a business’ practices. But because of the immediate expense – and the uncertainty surrounding those use cases – many businesses haven’t taken the leap to invest in it.
With the 5G lab, these businesses who are interested in VR – and yet are holding off on investment – can explore how it can work for their business and test it in a low-cost, low-risk way.
For other hardware and software innovations, the lab will put on regular tech workshops and demos, complete with co-working spaces, event spaces, and meeting rooms. This will help to introduce companies to groundbreaking technologies and encourage greater development.
Conclusion: One Lab, Numerous Possibilities
Thanks in part to the success of the Newcastle United enterprise, business in Newcastle has been booming. But with the 5G Immersive Lab, businesses across the north-east of England have been given numerous possibilities to break down barriers and further level up their practices. The lab is located at the former Giraffe restaurant unit in Eldon Square, and the first event is due to take place on 8th May.