Among many pressing events in the realm of current affairs this year, the subject of 5G has gained some attention – and for a good reason. No, we’re not jumping on the backs of those conspiracy theorists – that would be silly! Afterall, we’re a business that specialises in software development and services, namely for GPS tracking, which means we need to care about 4G, 5G, and all the other G’s. You may be wondering what on earth 5G even means and what the impact will be on Fleetpin and our customers. So let’s break it all down for you. Starting with the basics; regardless of what assets you’re tracking, GPS tracking devices are pointless unless they have a way to communicate or translate the data they’re collecting. We’ll mention now that the type of asset being tracked, and the frequency and units of measurements being tracked each require different types or levels of coverage. Think of an asset where the GPS coordinates are only required to be tracked once a day. This is a small amount of data and therefore can rely on the basic 2G network or the more modern NB-IoT. Where things get interesting is when we dive into 4G. If you think about your mobile phone, doing things when connected to 4G is always better (faster). You’re more likely to throw your phone at the wall in frustration when the phone is connected to 3G rather than 4G. Who has time to wait for an email to send or an app to load? The same sort of principle applies to GPS Tracking Devices, only with data or the volume of information they’re required to track and translate. So if your business requires some more substantial degrees of asset tracking, the more information the devices are then required to track and translate while connected to the cellular network. In Fleetpin talk, think of a business wanting to track driver behavior. Tracking driver behaviour definitely requires GPS coordinates being tracked, but more than once a day. Not only that, it requires tracking of speed and braking activity too. These few components alone already start to build up in terms of data/information to process. That’s why in cases like this, we’d recommend devices configured to the 4G network. But what about when 5G goes live? For those already using 4G configured devices, you’ll be able to carry on just fine. Reason being, the highly technical aspects of how 4G was built (a rabbit hole we’ll stay away from for now) is actually now officially recognised as a 5G technology. So Fleetpin’s 4G devices will be supported long after the switchover to 5G. If your business relies on 2G and/or 3G devices, you can relax too. We’re not yet sure at which point in our lifetime (or another) that 2G will be laid to rest. There are still many hundreds of thousands (millions?) of devices that still use this reliable network. The exciting part of 5G is the world of possibilities it presents Fleetpin with. Remembering that the further along we move from 2G, the higher the volume of data and type of data that can be tracked, recorded and translated. The same applies to Fleetpin and what we can offer our customers, that’s why we’ve been heads down on the development front ensuring that we’ll be ready for 5G before it’s here. In the meantime, while we did say “relax, you’ll be fine”, if you’re a Fleetpin customer we do recommend having a good review of how your business utilises Fleetpin and the supporting devices. If your business is on track for growth or if you have aggressive growth plans, chances are your level of tracking requirements will diversify too, so consider your tracking devices strategically. You’re better to set your business up to be at the forefront of technology now rather than later. Remember to talk to us if you need more insight on all the G’s and our devices. We’ll do our best to keep you informed as things ramp up in this space. You can compare and review our device range here.
