This technology, combined with AI, can add 1% to 2% growth of Gross Domestic Product over the next 10 years. From the region, Guatemala is the one with the most progress, according to Vertiv expert.
The advantages of implementing the 5G Internet are infinite. It is estimated that this technology, combined with Artificial Intelligence (IA), will add 7% growth to the global economy over the next 10 years and in Central America, could contribute between 1% and 2% in the same period.
In Latin America, Brazil is the country that has made the most progress, as it is estimated that 59% of its population already has the 5G service in its Internet connections.
In Central America, there is progress, but its evolution could accelerate further, according to Hugo Sánchez, responsible for designated accounts of Vertiv, a company dedicated to technological infrastructure solutions. We’re moving forward, but we could go faster, Sanchez acknowledges. To date, Guatemala, Panama and Costa Rica are the countries where concrete steps have been taken to adopt this technology.
Guatemala already has two operators who are offering 5G, in Panama a company has just launched a pilot plan of this network and in Costa Rica the government has already called for a spectrum tender.
However, Sánchez recognizes that countries face major challenges related to the release of the spectrum, their cost and the generation of public policies from the government to attract investments in the infrastructure of this technology. For 5G more antennas are needed, new equipment and data centers are needed.
All this is investment, he says.And on the part of the private company there is also the challenge of the investments they can make, as Sánchez says that this technology reaches users through applications generated by private initiative for all kinds of developments: telemedicine, virtual reality, etc.
What’s going to happen to 5G is that we’re going to fill ourselves with sensors, devices that are going to collect data that will go to an application and this is going to be a catalyst for people’s needs, which will bring a lot of competitiveness, he says. Vertiv, a digital infrastructure provider that offers battery systems for new technologies, will increase its demand for products in the coming years, when the evolution of the 5G network demands it.
However, Sánchez explains that the company, like many globally, is already ready to receive the progress of the network in the region and accompany the investments that arise.
This article has been translated after first appearing in La Prensa Grafica