14 OCTOBER 2019|COMPUTERSHOPPER|ISSUE 380
IT’SABOUTTIME,is probablythe first thought
that pops intoyou mind when you hear that 5G has
actually arrived after years of speculation, teasing
and forecasting. But 5G is finally here.
EE was the first UK network off the blocks, with
its 5G service launching at the end of Mayacross six
cities –Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh,
London and Manchester –with more set to follow
as 2019 rolls on.
Vofafone then switched on its 5G network on
3rd July in seven cities, with 12 other urban areas
expected to be covered by the end of the year.
Three is set to launch its 5G network in August –itmight even be here by
the time you read this, as there’s no exact launch date–which the
telecoms company has claimed will be the fastest 5G network in the UK.
Only O2 lags behind, but it has confirmed it will turn on its 5G network
some time in 2019.
So the networks are finally ready to provide 5G, albeit in select
locations at launch, though we expect once the rollouts gain momentum
and telecoms companies start butting heads over 5G competition, the
next generation of mobile broadband will spread further afield.
Telecoms regulator Ofcom has already championed plans forafixed
wireless antenna roadmap to support the expansion and adoption of 5G.
“Wewillfocusourpolicyeffortsoncontinuingto
enable growth in the fixed wireless services sector
taking intoaccount the changes in spectrum use
and requirements by other services,”Ofcom said.
“Wewill do this by providing access to the
spectrum in ways that enables uses that provide
the most benefits to citizens and consumers.”
The other side of the coin is 5G phones:
telecoms companies provide the infrastructure,
while phone makers and hardware firms provide
the chips and products to tap into5G.
Qualcomm has been ahead of the game for
some time,with its Snapdragon X50 5G modem chip offering phone
and hardware makers ameans to put 5G connectivity intotheir devices.
The chip maker also offers the Snapdragon X55 modem, which promises
improved 5G connectivity tech in future phones.
As forthe handsets, Samsung has the Galaxy S10 5G, which as the
name suggests is the company’s first 5G phone.OnePlus has a5Gtake on
its OnePlus 7Pro,while Lenovo,Oppo,Xiaomi, Huawei and ZTE all have
5G-capable phones either already available or in the works.
In short, the long wait for5Gisover.And as it expands, access to a
generation of mobile broadband that’s farfaster than 4G will be open to
large swathes of Britain sooner rather than later.
SAYWHAT?
5G finally begins to roll out across UK cities
THEUSEOFfacial recognition technology might seem an intuitive wayto
unlock smartphones and control cross-border checks at airports, as well
as ameans to mess around with selfie filters and other such software
nonsense.But it’s also used in amore clandestine wayfor supposedly
fighting crime and keeping track of ne’er-do-wells in public spaces.
Whether such widespread surveillance is agood
thing forlaw enforcement or asteponthe road to a
dystopian future is amatter of debate. But the House
of Commons Science and Technology Committee is
less than impressed by the controversial technology.
Several police forces have put facial recognition
technology to use,notably London’s Met Police.But
while the tech might seem the perfect tool to spot
criminals in crowds, in reality it hasn’t proven to be
effective,has flagged the wrong people,contains arisk
of bias and hasn’t resulted in any meaningful arrests.
This has been aconcern forMPs in the committee,
who in areport on the use of the technology in the public sector said
there have been independent bodies that have noted there’s a‘regulatory
lacuna’around the use of facial recognition technology and how legal it is
to trial when there’s alack of regulation and robustness in the tech.
“Wecall on the government to issue amoratorium on the current
use of facial recognition technology,and no further trials should take
place until alegislative framework has been introduced and guidance
on trial protocols, and an oversight and evaluation system, has been
established,”the report maintains.
The committee wasn’t pulling any punches in its criticism of how the
government has approached the use of facial recognition technology,
noting that the concerns raised in 2018 and the recommendations it
suggested then resulted in no improvement in the
use and regulation of biometrics, which includes
the use of facial recognition tech. The MPsbranded
this ‘disappointing’.
“The UK government should learn from the
Scottish government’s approach to biometrics and
commission an independent review of options for
the use and retention of biometric data that is not
currently covered by the Protection of Freedoms Act
2012,”the report adds.
“This process should culminateinlegislation
being brought forward that seeks to govern current
and future biometric technologies.”
It’s not just the use of the technology that’s the problem, but also how
police forces fail to edit databases of collected images to remove those of
people who are not criminal suspects or convicted individuals.
“Such improvements now appear to have been delayed indefinitely.
As such, the burden remains on individuals to know that theyhavethe
right to request deletion of their image,” the report notes.
MPs call for facial recognition tech to be suspended
SAYWHAT?
