The impact of 5g and iot on smart cities

Smart cities is another sector already benefiting from the impact of 5G and IoT.  

"I used to have a guy come and measure my water meter manually; now they're installing systems so that you can do this remotely," said iBASEt's Poonian. "With my gas meter, I'm now starting to get data analytics on how I'm performing against my peers and trying to create cost-saving programs."

While that's a current use case, IoT endpoints will become even more powerful with 5G connectivity, allowing for more insights across greater distances. For example, using crowdsourced information, the technology can evaluate traffic patterns throughout the city and direct crowds to open parking garages via apps in their cars, Patron said.

"Think of silly situations like big football games where everyone is struggling to find a parking place, particularly in city centers where there's not a lot of parking," Patron said. "Or think of much more dire situations like storms or natural disaster. [5G and IoT] could redirect people and even control the streetlights for evacuations."

The collaboration between 5G and IoT will not only help develop existing projects, but will create use cases never before considered.

More about 5G(What will be affected by the combination of 5G and IoT).