May 22, 2020
We have all been hearing it a lot lately: “5G is here”.
With the arrival of this new type of technology, you may be asking yourself: “What is 5G?”.
The world’s cellular network currently runs on 4G, which is the 4th generation of wireless communication technology.
When the world made the transition from 3G to 4G, the effect it had on different industries was obvious.
Everyone benefited from the faster internet; medical professionals, the entertainment industry and digital marketers.
But with 5G coming into the mix, how will this effect digital marketing as we know it?
At Conduit, we believe the biggest impact in digital marketing will take place in Over The Top Television, or OTT digital marketing. How? We’ll tell you.
What Is 5G?
Before we can understand the benefits 5G will provide the OTT digital landscape, we will need to first understand what 5G is and why we need it.
In essence, 5G is the fifth generation in the series of technology standards for cellular networks.
With this upgrade in our technology, we can expect faster, more stable and a more secure connection.
Why Do We Need 5G?
The world’s connectivity needs are changing fast.
With the increase in population and mobile devices, mobile data traffic is expected to increase by 5x before the end of 2024.
The current 4G networks won’t be able to to keep up, especially in highly dense areas.
Why Is 5G So Important?
5G is becoming more important as it can improve and transform the lives of everyone in the world.
Not only that but it will be able to support millions of devices while also maintaining at high speeds.
Upgrading to 5G speeds will revolutionize the way everyone does business, especially digital marketers.
5G And Digital Marketing
In the media production world, delivering content is a considerable logistical challenge.
For user-generated content, reliable and uncontended bandwidth is key, however more often than not poor network results in low-quality content and a frustrated end-user.
5G is definitely on its way and it has already started rolling out in most major cities.
It’s the same as any other cellular networks except it has the ability to use much larger channels than 4G while using the same three different ranges of frequency, low, middle, and high band.
All this means is there is a difference in the range of airwaves at each level.
What Is The Difference Between 4G & 5G?
Currently, 5G is generating speeds up to 2 gigabits per second (Gbps), to put that in perspective 4G can generate speeds up to 300 megabits per second (Mbps), and there are 1,000 megabits in a gigabit, making 5Gs current capabilities roughly 7X faster than 4G.
In theory, 5G could reach speeds upwards of 30Gbps, giving people the ability to move tremendous amounts of data at lightning-fast speeds across multiple devices and platforms.
This leads to the opening of new doors for what digital advertisers are able to do. With this increase in internet speeds, people will be consuming much more content in a shorter amount of time.
So as digital marketers, we have to come up with creative ways to get our client’s messaging and branding in front of consumers.
In order to see where we are headed in the future, it’s important to take a step back and see how we got here.
What Each Generation Provided
Each generation impacted the world with its release.
When 1G was released, it gave us the ability to talk virtually anywhere on our cell phones.
2G gave us the ability to text, which changed the way we communicated.
3G gave us the ability to browse the web from our mobile devices and when 4G LTE came along, it took everything good about 3G and made it 10X faster.
With the 5th generation of wireless connectivity on the way, there are endless possibilities for tech and the new applications that could arise from its wake.
“The first 4G phones in the US appeared in 2010, but the sorts of 4G applications that changed our world didn’t appear until later. Snapchat came in 2012, and Uber became widespread in 2013. Video calls over LTE networks also became widespread in the US around 2013” (PcMag).
Now here in 2020 people are streaming full HD movies and shows on their mobile devices, uploading millions of pictures to Instagram daily, and video calling from thousands of miles away.
Not only has 4G upgraded how we live our lives, but it has also changed the game for digital marketing.
Advertisers are able to put their ads in front of potential customers wherever they are none of which could have been possible without 4G.
5G And Its Effects On OTT
We won’t end up seeing the real effects 5G has for a few years after it has been ramped up around the world.
Just like we didn’t see the big effects of 4G for about 3 years.
But that does not mean we won’t see the immediate impact it will have on platforms we already use today.
5G’s speeds and capabilities open up a whole new world for advertisers we have yet to see.
It is expected to cut data latency down to roughly 1 millisecond!
To put that in perspective the average human’s reaction time is between 150 to 300 milliseconds.
With data being able to move in real-time on 5G, advertisers will be able to put their ads directly in front of potential customers almost instantly.
Products like OTT (over-the-top-television) will definitely change in delivery as people take their favorite movies and shows on the road with them!
This increase in speed will mean the end of buffering while streaming content.
Watching video in full HD or even 4K streaming will be possible everywhere we go which will increase the demand for OTT campaigns.
Mainly people watch their favorite shows on applications like Hulu, Sling, Pluto TV, etc. in the comfort of their home.
This has mainly contributed to the ability, or lack thereof, to stream high-quality videos consistently over the current wireless network.
5G is here to solve that, with speeds up to 30Gbps there won’t be any issues with streaming quality and the ability of the network to keep up with demand.
One of the main attractions digital marketers see in 5G is its ability to cope better with running several high-demand applications concurrently.
From VR/AR experiences to simultaneous HD video streaming, 5G can support several high level uses cases at the same time.
It is the end of networks slowing down to meet the demands of all users utilizing it.
Now the network will be capable of keeping up and even exceeding those needs, opening the door for massive consumption of content wherever a user would like.
With the massive consumption of content by users comes a huge opportunity for advertisers to put their message in front of their target audience.
But how can advertisers capitalize on the opportunity?
With 5G comes mobile edge computing, which gives the ability to store content locally, closer to the cellular user.
This ultimately reduces the costs of storing and using data, making it easier for operators and content providers alike to efficiently provide targeted, localized content.
Advertisers will ultimately be able to reduce costs while providing highly targeted advertising.
We are already seeing the next generation of consumer content on mobile devices when it comes to OTT applications with the emergence of Quibi.
Quibi launched on April 6th, 2020 ushering in what could be the new way users consume video content on the go.
With short, 6-10 minute episodes it makes it perfect for commuters or users who don’t have the time to consume a full 30 minute episode.
Before each episode there will be a short non-skippable ad, opening even more inventory for OTT advertisers.
Paired with 5G’s speed and latency capabilities Quibi could become a top OTT application for users and advertisers alike.
High-quality content with no interruptions in real-time, what more could a consumer ask for?
To Wrap It All Up
Constant improvements in technology have led to the amazing wireless communication technology that is 5G.
The fifth generation of the world’s global cellular network is roughly seven times faster than what the world is running on with 4G.
With each generation, the world takes substantial steps towards a faster and more connected network that will pave the way for some culture-changing technologies.
Coupled with already exponential growth patterns, OTT stands to really benefit from the implementation of 5G because of the insane speeds that data will be streamed.
The marketing industry has been slowly but surely moving towards stronger digital solutions, which will soon make OTT the hill of digital marketing that everyone will want to be king of.
