Page 31 - SAMENA Trends - October 2021

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AT&T First to Deliver Both High and Low-Band 5G Connectivity to GE
Research Campus

AT&T’s full spectrum of 5G connectivity to
GE’s Global Research facility is opening
the doors for improved patient care,
experience and outcomes. Next generation
networks will play an important role in
enabling personal, proactive and portable
healthcare experiences,” said Rasesh Patel,
executive vice president and chief product
and platform officer, AT&T. “A critical focus
for the GE 5G testbed is democratizing
technology and building solutions that
AT&T and GE Research are fueling the future of healthcare, aviation and green energy. work in the real-world setting,” said SM
GE Research, the research and development division of General Electric (GE), has added Hasan, 5G Mission Leader, GE Research.
AT&T 5G to its cross-industry 5G testbed at its research facility in Niskayuna, New York. “Having both flavors of 5G enables us to
The purpose of GE’s testbed is to create real-world solutions, so the research facility’s build solutions that span both high speeds,
environment must reflect the marketplace — today and beyond. AT&T currently provides in building networks and the over-the-air
2 flavors of 5G – AT&T 5G, using low-band or sub-6 spectrum, which offers the Nation’s 5G network available to AT&T customers.”
Best 5G Network1 to our customers nationwide and AT&T 5G+, which delivers super-fast What else should I know? The deployment
speeds and unprecedented performances via mmWave spectrum. The addition of AT&T’s on the GE Research campus also expands
5G network provides GE Research with the most advanced networking capabilities the AT&T 5G footprint in the broader
available and for the first time, enables them to use both high and low-band 5G to uncover community, giving high-speed wireless
new opportunities to advance clean energy, air transportation and precision health. access to more Niskayuna residents and
Why is this important? High-speed, lower-latency 5G connections have the potential visitors. In addition, these enhancements
to alter the very DNA of critical industries in exciting ways. GE Research and AT&T are will bring Band 14 spectrum to the area
actively exploring ways to use 5G connectivity to improve patient care and outcomes. As – a nationwide, high-quality spectrum set
healthcare becomes more personal, precise and portable over the next decade, we need aside by the federal government specifically
faster, secure and reliable networks to realize this potential. Having access to both forms for FirstNet®, Built with AT&T. FirstNet
of AT&T’s 5G connectivity can enhance the ability of GE Research to shape the future of is designed to solve for long-standing
patient care and improving patient outcomes. This can help GE Research develop and communications challenges faced by
optimize data flow across both spectrum bands throughout the care cycle and regardless the public safety community by allowing
of location. This means enhancing the level of care whether a patient is receiving care first responders to communicate with
at home, in an ambulance or at a healthcare facility. “The power of reliable, robust sub-6 one another during everyday situations,
and 5G+ networks will transform healthcare by bringing care more directly to the patient,” big events or emergencies. FirstNet is the
said Eric Tucker, senior director of technical products, GE. “We’re already seeing how only nationwide, high-speed broadband
doctors have become more connected to their patients through the power of telemedicine communications platform dedicated to and
or teleconsulting. Just imagine what will be possible when millions of medical devices purpose-built for America’s first responders
and diagnostics tools can be reliably connected to help doctors deliver faster, more and the extended public safety community.
effective patient care.” Tucker added, “Today, when you don’t feel well, you call the doctor Shaped by the vision of Congress and the
and schedule an appointment so that the doctor can examine you and figure out what’s first responder community following the
wrong. Depending on schedules, it may take several hours or even days before you get 9/11 terrorist attacks, FirstNet stands
into the doctor’s office. But with the development of wearable sensors and other medical above commercial offerings. It is built with
monitoring devices that GE and others are innovating, a future scenario could well be that AT&T in public-private partnership with
the doctor calls the patient to tell them something is wrong first. This is possible in a very the First Responder Network Authority
limited way today. The power of 5G networks could make it pervasive.” Here are some of (FirstNet Authority) – an independent
the ways 5G could help enhance the patient experience in the coming years: Accelerating agency within the federal government. The
the development of wearable sensors and medical devices: Instead of a prolonged FirstNet network provides first responders
hospital stay, a patient could recover at home, but without any loss in the doctor’s ability truly dedicated coverage and capacity
to monitor and respond to changes in their recovery. Transforming asset management when they need it, including unique benefits
and monitoring: In the modern hospital setting, it can often be difficult to rapidly locate like always-on priority and preemption and
necessary medical equipment. As 5G matures and more precise location monitoring is high-quality Band 14 spectrum. These
available, we envision a world in which medical assets are always where you need them. advanced capabilities enable FirstNet to
Elevating precision health with precision data: 5G will be critical to enabling improved help fire, EMS, EMA, law enforcement and
data collection and analysis. It will also allow for more effective expert networks, enabling 9-1-1 personnel save lives and protect
teleconsultation and AI-augmented decision making. What are people saying? “Bringing their communities.

31 OCTOBER 2021