5G networks in 2019? Plus, blockchain gains interest | TECH(feed)

hey everyone, welcome back to tech feed. i’m juliet beauchamp. today we’re discussing some big 5-g news out of mobile world congress in barcelona. and let’s talk about how some i-t leaders think blockchain will disrupt the enterprise. stay tuned.


a recent survey reveals that 41 percent of it execs think it is likely or very likely that their businesses will incorporate blockchain sometime in the next three years. 48 percent of respondents said blockchain is likely to change the way they do business. and there’s a few ways these execs think blockchain will change traditional practices: the respondents pointed to reduced cyber risk, a change in iot processes and a new way to handle contracts as some top disruptions, among other things. blockchain is positioned to be a powerful tool for automation in the enterprise. it gets a lot of buzz, and we’ll be keeping an eye on if and how businesses decide to roll it out.

m-w-c is winding down, but news out of the conference may raise tensions between the u-s and huawei. yet another country has said they will use huawei equipment to construct a next generation wireless network--despite warnings and pushback from the united states government. at m-w-c, the united arab emirates announced it would rely on huawei to help build 300 5-g towers in the first half of 2019. the u-a-e joins the u-k in rejecting united states claims that huawei, a chinese company, will utilize its equipment to spy on users. huawei has denied these allegations. at the barcelona conference, its rotating chairman said quote, “huawei has not and will never plant back doors.”

and in other m-w-c and 5-g news, qualcomm announced its first snapdragon chip with integrated 5-g support is coming.... just not until the second quarter of 2020. as in, not for another full year. and that’s probably for the best… 5-g gets a lot of hype. but as it stands, the newly announced phones with 5-g capabilities are just that. they’re capable of 5-g. but without actual 5-g infrastructure in place, you won’t notice much of a difference in your phone’s performance. even as networks potentially roll out this year, users won’t get the full 5-g experience. however, with the correct networks in place, this new qualcomm chip promises high speeds without increased battery drain. in short, expect to hear more about widespread 5-g roll out later this year and into 2020. we’ll be sure to keep you in the loop

thanks for watching today’s episode of tech feed. if you liked this video be sure to give it a thumbs up and subscribe to our channel. and let me know in the comments if you’ll be buying a 5-g enabled phone now… or if you’re waiting until next year. see you next time.