When King Charles and Queen Camilla were crowned in May, it may have seemed like a strange relic from the distant past - the ceremony's origins trace back nearly a thousand years to William the Conqueror in 1066. But behind the scenes, something much more futuristic was taking place.
Just outside Westminster Abbey, ITN's news cameras were rolling, capturing footage that would be broadcast live on ITV News' special coverage. For several of the key shots, instead of relying on a satellite truck, the cameras were beaming back their images using Vodafone's "standalone" 5G network, on its own dedicated network "slice" of protected bandwidth, in the highest-profile test yet of the technology.
5G standalone - or "5G SA" - is arguably 5G in its true form. It's only this version of the technology that makes possible many of the original promises of 5G, such as lower latency and more reliable connections for industrial and professional use-cases.
And, hopefully, it's the future, too. In April, the government announced that it wanted "all populated areas" served by 5G SA networks by 2030, but that it was only putting up £40m to "encourage innovative 5G investment across the private and public sector".
Will that be anywhere near enough to deliver the "real" 5G we've been waiting for?
A slice of the action
The story begins back before 5G first launched around the world. Mobile networks were getting increasingly crowded, and bandwidth more in demand - so faced with a potential bottleneck in capacity, mobile operators made a crucial decision.
"The splitting point was the decision back in 2015 to bring out the 5G standard a little bit earlier than it was ready," said Colin Bryce, director of mobile network engineering at network infrastructure firm CommScope.
This story is from the August 2023 edition of PC Pro.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the August 2023 edition of PC Pro.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Lenovo ThinkPad E16 Gen 1 (AMD)
By no means the last word in excitement, but the ThinkPad E16 is a good-value choice for business users
Huawei MateBook D16
The best and biggest screen here, plus a powerful Core i9 processor, ensure the MateBook D16 stands out
Acer Aspire Go 14
It's tough to argue with this laptop's value for money or battery life, but speed lovers should look elsewhere
HP Spectre x360 16 (2024)
This sleek 2kg convertible packs everything you need, including a Core Ultra chip and optional Nvidia graphics
Five ways to get cloud computing wrong
Don't let your migration projects go up in smoke. Steve Cassidy runs through the blunders to avoid
Control your computer with your face and head -it's the future!
As if to show nothing is new in the world of technology, eye tracking and gesture control date back decades. But if Apple's on board, maybe their time has finally come, suggests Nicole Kobie
Chip off the old block
Standalone sales of the Z80 CPU have finally been discontinued after 48 years. David Crookes looks back on a chip with a staggering impact
Cloud backup 2024
Whether it's through attack or error, your business data is always at risk. Dave Mitchell explains how cloud services can add extra protection and puts four contenders to the test
Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra
A brilliant advert for resinbased 3D printing, with a host of features that make it easy to obtain great results
HP All-in-One 27 cr-0014na PC
A speedy and temptingly priced all-in-one PC with a fine 27in display-but note its 1080p resolution
