Full-scale 5G will come, just be patient

Haitao Li, 5G expert at the OPPO Research Institute.

While 5G may be indeed here, there are still a lot of fine-tuning to do in order to fully realise its potential.
Patience, therefore, will be greatly appreciated.
"5G is more of a concept now... [new innovations] take time," Haitao Li, senior standardisation specialist and 5G expert at the Oppo Research Institute, told Khaleej Times on Wednesday.
"The 5G standard has been in place for only about a year, so there are still testings being done."
Once everything is in place, "we are looking forward to the deployment of 5G because it is a very big event for the industry", he added.
Li was speaking at the MEA launch of the company's newest smartphones, the Oppo Reno2 series, in Dubai on Wednesday.
The Dongguan, China-headquartered firm introduced the flagship 6.5-inch Reno2, which comes with the unique 'shark fin' front camera. Its main camera has four lenses, led by a 48MP sensor, which promises better performance especially in low light.
Oppo also launched the mid-tier Reno2F.
Li foresees a 100 per cent deployment - "full function", as he terms it - of 5G some time next year.
He added that Oppo, which partnered with UAE telecom firm etisalat to launch the Oppo Reno 5G some months ago, is proud to be one of the first handset makers to offer such devices.
He says it may further take one or two more years for the entire 5G ecosystem to mature - and this includes everything from the Internet of Things to connected devices and smartphones to end-users.
"Oppo has been actively testing 5G," Li says, in collaboration with industry giants such as chipmaker Qualcomm and network gear maker Ericsson.
In Oppo's home market of China, Li says 5G has more momentum compared to many other parts of the world, with a number of industries taking advantage of the new standard. The government, he adds, is focusing on the highest standards.
"China is very keen to launch 5G," he added. "Hopefully it will be the first worldwide to have a large-scale launch."
In terms of security, Li pointed out that users can rest assured that the 5G has even stricter standards in place compared to previous generations.
- alvin@khaleejtimes.com