Bike sharing on track to become the first killer application for 5G
If more Internet of Things services can pick up in the near future in various business segments such as smart meters and smart homes, they may come to drive 5G capital expenditure
The growing success of bike-sharing apps in China is being held up as a shining light of how the Internet of Things (IoT) should drive more capital expenditure into 5G technology in future, according to latest research published by China International Capital Corporation (CICC).
Its analysts, including Leping Huang and Erica Chin-Yi Chen, highlighted the successes of Mobike and Ofo, the country’s two leading bicycle sharing services, as illustrating just how much potential the industry presents.
“The successful implementation of communications technology into bicycle-sharing services shows communications technology can actually create new added value for Internet of Things service providers such as Mobike,” the study said.
Mobike – which already has 800,000 of its cycles on mainland streets – uses 2G and GPS chip sets to keep track of its fleet, allowing users to identify the location of bikes using GPS. They can also use the system to lock or unlock the bikes remotely.
“If more IoT services can pick up in the near future in various business segments such as smart meters and smart homes, they may come to drive 5G [capital expenditure],” the study adds, and significantly increase the volume of communications chips and modules being shipped.
