How businesses can demystify the IoT and 5G integrations potentials and challenges?

The latest decision by the United Kingdom to phase out Huawei infrastructure from UK telecoms networks has brought grave concerns that surround the 5G deployment. Add to it the Covid-19 cold war which has led to countries fight for legitimacy, of why different groups are concerned about 5G - whether this is about the cost and logistics of implementation, or privacy and data sharing challenges, or even wild conspiracy theories. In the most extreme case, the impending cold war has resulted in attacks on 5G flagbearers and the destruction of masts.

What does 5G bring to the table? For starts, it brings unprecedented levels of connectivity, particularly as it extends well beyond mobile devices and the Internet of Things (IoT) network. This brings an unprecedented shift to IoT sensors from mobile networks. In the future, providing service for phones will no longer be the primary function, instead, 5G will provide critical services to the IoT devices.

IoT by no means is a niche market. With the greater bandwidth that it allows these devices will become fully integrated into our daily lives. And this technology is expected to expand its revenue generation from $24.8 billion per annum in 2020 to $108.3 billion in 2029. In response, the traditional mobile ecosystem is all set to expand exponentially, with 43 billion IoT devices connected by 2023, 5G networks will be handling unparalleled levels of communication.

Comprehending the IoT Gains

There are major advantages that pertain to the rollout of IoT devices. In homes around the world, IoT is already in use, through connected devices, that tells if you are running out of milk or a thermostat that reacts to the weather forecast. However, the potential of IoT extends well beyond this - it is set to have a transformative effect on countless industries. Take the manufacturing industry that would gain using the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) where processes are automated and streamlined, reducing human error, enhancing product quality and reducing production time and costs.

The applications of IoT do not stop there. This technology would play an important role in critical infrastructure in cities around the world. Take for example the city of Santander in Spain: the municipal government has bought an app that lets citizens use services such as environmental monitoring, encompassing a live digital city agenda or a parking search function, through a network of over 10,000 sensors, communicating in real-time and responding to changes instantly.

Mitigating Cyberattacks

5G and IoT stakeholders can take preventive steps to mitigate the attacks that result from data leakages. During the 5G network design, enterprises must hold security as a priority. This is truer now than ever before, as 5G networks are rolled out. Attempts to implement security at the later stages may cost much more- purchase of additional equipment's, to integrate them into complex IoT systems. Besides, signalling traffic must be monitored and analysed so that it does not cross the network border to identify potential threats and error configuration.

Such monitoring is encouraged by the GSMA guidelines. To implement, operators need to employ special threat detection systems which can analyse signal traffic in real-time and detect illegitimate activity that may come from external hosts. Coupled with filtering or firewalling functionality, these solutions block illegitimate messages without impacting network performance or subscriber availability. This is especially crucial when it comes to industrial IoT devices (IIoT), as a down network for any period could have considerable ramifications.