Next-generation communication standard 5G Starts service in Japan March 25 4:16
The next generation of high-speed, large-capacity communication standards, 5G services will be launched in Japan from the 25th. For the time being, the area is limited to large cities and other areas.
High-speed, large-capacity 5G is a next-generation communication standard that is expected to shorten the time required to download a 2-hour movie from the current 5 minutes of 4G to about 3 seconds at the fastest. Start the service from.
Au's KDDI and SoftBank are also planning to launch services this week, and the 5G era will begin in Japan following the United States and China.
Each company's price plan is set at 500 yen to 1000 yen higher than the current plan, each company has various discount systems, and offers video services using new technologies such as VR = virtual reality And want to get users.
In addition, 5G radio waves have the characteristic that there is almost no delay and many terminals can be connected at one time, and they are expected to be used in industrial fields such as medical fields and factory efficiency.
On the other hand, the 5G area will be limited to some areas such as Tokyo and Osaka for the time being.
Each mobile phone company plans to establish an area where 5G can be used in all prefectures during the new fiscal year, but expanding the area early is the key to the spread of new services.
Rate plan is
The major 5G rate plans of the three major mobile phone companies are set at 500 to 1000 yen higher than the previous 4G plans.
Of these, NTT Docomo, which will start the service on the 25th, is ¥ 500 per month, which is ¥ 500 higher than before, and for the time being it is said that the data capacity is unlimited as a campaign.
By combining this with family discounts, it can be used from the beginning at 4480 yen.
Au's KDDI plan to launch the service on the 26th is 8650 yen per month, which is 1000 yen higher than before, and the data capacity is unlimited.
If you sign up before August, you can get a discount of 1,000 yen for two years, and if you combine a family discount, you can use it from 3460 yen at first.
The SoftBank plan, which starts on the 27th, costs 8480 yen per month, 1000 yen higher than before, and the data capacity is 50 GB, but some SNS and video distribution services can be used regardless of the capacity.
If you sign up before August, you can get a discount of 1,000 yen for two years, and if you combine a family discount, you can use it from 3480 yen at first.
Since there are no major differences in price plans among companies, it is likely that the key to competition will be to attract users with services such as video distribution and games that take advantage of 5G features.
In addition, Rakuten, which will start full-scale mobile phone service next month, plans to start 5G in June.
Use for remote medical care
The 5G features of high speed and low delay are expected to be utilized in the medical field.
Tokyo Women's Medical University, which is conducting research on telemedicine, is trying to create an environment where a doctor with a remote location can be diagnosed and operated on a truck equipped with a 5G communication function.
It is supposed to be used in disaster-stricken areas and depopulated areas, etc. Even if there is no specialist, it is possible to send images of the endoscope so that accurate diagnosis can be made, and to send images during surgery in real time In this way, we aim to build a system that allows surgery while receiving instructions from a specialist in a remote location.
With 4G, it is difficult to perform surgery outside of hospitals because a large amount of data cannot be exchanged and delays occur, but it is expected that 5G will be possible.
Professor Yoshihiro Muragaki of Tokyo Women's Medical University said, "Because of the new coronavirus, contact with people remotely is expected to accelerate even further in the medical industry with 5G. I want to do it. "