5G Capabilities and reach-The Panagora Blog

5G Capabilities and reach

“If you think the last patent war over smartphones was bad, just wait until 5G starts being deployed throughout the global economy,” warns Joseph Siino, president of patent pool operator Via Licensing. “It could be even more costly and wasteful than the last one."

“5G wireless technology is going to transform every business and every industry, just as the Internet once did,” explains Siino. Indeed, with wireless speeds up to 1000 times faster than today, 5G will let consumers download a high-definition movie in seconds rather than an hour or more.

What’s more, 5G’s ultra-fast speed will enable businesses to unleash a cornucopia of amazing new products and services, from

·        Fully-autonomous vehicles to

·        Radical new advances in medicine,

·        Banking

·        Industrial automation

·        Personalized retailing

·        Artificial intelligence,

·        Millions of new jobs will be created

“5G technology players make no secret of the ambitious monetization targets they have for their patent portfolios,” observed Jim Beveridge of the Innovators Network in an industry trade magazine recently. “As the 5G digital data pipe becomes attached to different industry segments, so the royalty train follows it.”

As if the threat of being sued or paying exorbitant 5G licensing fees wasn’t scary enough for businesses, there is also a major geopolitical threat to navigate. As the Wall Street Journal noted on February 6, "The U.S. is looking to encourage new corporate competitors into the 5G race, fearful that Chinese competitors could gain an insurmountable global lead in the years to come.

The combination of these competitive and geopolitical battles adds up to the ultimate worst-case scenario for businesses that make 5G-enabled products and services a patent war wrapped in a trade war.