5G New Radio (NR) is one of the primary drivers for the adoption of 5G networks. It offers better performance than previous generations and also supports new use cases and applications like Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications (URLLC) and Massive Machine-Type Communications (mMTC). The latter two applications will mostly be used by businesses and are a big part of why many point to 5G’s true potential lying with enterprises, often hand-in-hand with the rise of private networks and the advancement of the Internet of Things.
However, many businesses are struggling to understand the business case for private 5G networks today. LTE or Wi-Fi can provide the throughput for high-bandwidth applications, and low-power, wide area network (LPWAN) connectivity, such as LoRA-WAN, CAT-M and NB-IoT, can connect devices that have low-performance requirements. 5G technology is still expensive and primarily designed to support innovative new applications, many of which are still in development.
RedCap, also known as “broadband IoT” or “NR-Light” is due to make 5G more accessible by offering simpler and lower-cost 5G hardware. This technology will offer reduced 5G capabilities but support a broad range of IoT use cases that are being used and developed today such as wearables and video surveillance applications.
