This ebook, based on the latest ZDNet / TechRepublic special feature, examines how 5G connectivity will underpin the next generation of IoT devices. Autonomous cars (and other vehicles, such as trucks) may still be years away from widespread deployment, but connected cars are very much with us. The modern automobile is fast becoming a sensor-laden mobile Internet of Things device, with considerable on-board computing power and communication systems devoted to three broad areas: vehicle location, driver behaviour, engine diagnostics and vehicle activity (telematics); the surrounding environment (vehicle-to-everything or V2X communication); and the vehicle's occupants (infotainment). All of these systems use cellular -- and increasingly 5G -- technology, among others. Although 5G networks are still a work in progress for mobile operators, the pace of deployment and launches is picking up.

Plans to beam 5G signals to the public via drones that stay airborne for nine days at a time have been announced by two UK firms. They want to use antenna-equipped aircraft powered by hydrogen to deliver high-speed connectivity to wide areas. Stratospheric Platforms and Cambridge Consultants say they could cover the whole of the UK with about 60 drones. But telecoms analysts question whether the economic case for this scheme is quite as simple as it sounds. The Cambridge-based companies say they would run the service in partnership with existing mobile operators. They are already backed by Deutsche Telekom, which hopes to trial the technology in rural southern Germany in 2024.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected almost every industry in some way or another. In most cases, the effect has been negative, but several sectors have benefited from the new remote working and learning norms -- not least of which is cloud computing. The increased dependence on this industry has resulted in a surge in revenues, and the worldwide cloud market grew 33% in Q3 2020 to US$36.5 billion, which was US$2.0 billion higher than the previous quarter and up US$9.0 billion year-on-year, according to Canalys data. A new surge of COVID-19 cases in the United States and Europe will continue this trend as social distancing measures are put back in place, meaning cloud will remain vital for sustaining business operations, remote working and learning, as well as customer engagement. The report found that Amazon Web Services (AWS) was the leading cloud service provider in Q3 2020, increasing its share of total spend from last quarter to 32%.

Artificial intelligence is helping telecoms operators to boost the RAN capacity of their 4G networks by 15 percent. More people than ever are relying on telecoms networks to work, play, and stay connected during the pandemic. Operators are doing all they can to ensure their existing networks have enough capacity to cope with demand. "Video streaming continues to experience high year on year growth and that has been exacerbated by the pandemic and resulting lock-downs, Yes, 5G grabs the spotlight, but 4G is carrying the brunt of this traffic. So, while investment in 5G infrastructure continues, operators need intelligent ways to maximize and extend existing 4G network capabilities in the short to medium term – keeping their CAPEX to a minimum."

South Korea is fighting the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) by relying on its technological forte. The country has an advanced digital platform for big-data mining, along with artificial intelligence (AI) and Koreans are leading the technological front, with Samsung competing closely with Apple.Inc of USA. Utilising big-data analysis, AI-powered advance warning systems, and intensive observation methodology, South Korea has already managed to bring the coronavirus situation in the country under control in a short time. South Korea is using the analysis, information and references provided by this integrated data -- all different real-time responses and information produced by the platform are promptly conveyed to people with different AI-based applications. Whenever someone is tested positive for COVID-19, all the people in the vicinity are provided with the infected person's travel details, activities, and commute maps for the previous two weeks through mobile notifications sent as a push system.

The Inside the Mind of the CEO interview series explores a wide range of critical decisions faced by chief executives around the world. For more insight, see PwC's CEO Survey. Vodnjan, a speck of a place on the Croatian peninsula of Istria, is the unlikely home to a European unicorn, a startup valued at US$1 billion–plus. The town has about 6,100 people, cobbled streets, a medieval clock tower, and a reputation for great olive oil. Today, it also has a new high-tech campus on its outskirts, home to Infobip, the brainchild of Silvio Kutić, whose family is from Vodnjan. In 2019, more than 4.8 billion people received messages on their smartphone from their taxi drivers, social media sites, banks, delivery companies, and other sources -- messages powered by Infobip technology. Millions of consumers in rural areas without Internet access also used the company's platform to access services and share information. CPaaS is a cloud-based delivery model that allows organizations to add real-time communications capabilities, such as voice, video, and messaging, to business applications without the need to build the technology infrastructure.

CAIRO - 12 February 2020: "We are entering the cognitive age. Over the next 25 years, advanced AI [Artificial Intelligence] will be the central element of digital transformation that fundamentally changes how businesses operate," Executive Vice President of global consulting firm Protiviti, Cory Gunderson, once said. Protiviti argues in a report that artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are poised to help companies make dramatic shifts in performance, shareholder value and business development within the next two years. "AI opens the door to analyse massive amounts of data and deliver critical insights that organisations across a wide variety of industries can use to improve processes, drive profitability, and increase their competitive advantage," it stated. The research concluded that companies leading the charge with advanced AI are finding that it is a real game changer, while companies that are still lagging behind will soon experience a major disadvantages.

A couple of weeks ago at the Mobile World Congress event in Los Angeles, graphics processing unit market leader NVIDIA unveiled its EGX Edge Supercomputing platform. The product is designed for all edge applications including, but not limited to, artificial intelligence and internet of things. This was the first time NVIDIA has been part of a Mobile World Congress, and the announcement of the EGX certainly warranted its presence at the event. As is the case with most NVIDIA platforms, EGX is a reference design that other server manufacturers can use to roll out a validated design for edge computing use cases that include NVIDIA GPUs. At the time of announcement, Cisco, Fujitsu, Lenovo, HPE and others were confirmed partners.

Interest in artificial intelligence is on the rise in Egypt as enterprises embrace emerging technology to expand into new markets, investors back AI startups and government initiatives support education and awareness of the technology. There is mounting evidence that private enterprise is embracing AI. Recently, for example, AI and anlytics vendor fonYou partnered with a mobile operator in Egypt to use its AI module to reach the unbanked, and Widebot just raised a six-figure (USD) Pre-Series A investment for its Arabic language chatbot. Meanwhile, the government is looking to develop AI capabilities in a number of ways, including launching its first AI faculty at Kafr El Sheikh University. Egypt is aiming to have 7.7 percent of its GDP derived through AI by 2030, a figure touted in the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report, The Potential Impact of AI in the Middle East.

The next-generation wireless network will enable large-scale internet of things applications and support blisteringly fast data processing across a diverse array of devices on a massive scale. Today's 4G status quo will not be an option when it comes to supporting low-latency use cases like mobile 4K videos, virtual and augmented reality, autonomous driving, robotics and a plethora of yet-to-be-conceived innovative services. The IoT is imminent – and so are the security challenges it will inevitably bring. Get up to speed on IoT security basics and learn how to devise your own IoT security strategy in our new e-guide. You forgot to provide an Email Address.