It was over 50 years ago, on April 3, 1973, when Martin Cooper stood on 6th Avenue in Manhattan and initiated the first public call using a cell phone. Since that pivotal moment, each passing decade has heralded a fresh era in mobile communication. Each new wireless network generation has brought about advancements in communication, from basic voice service in the first generation (1G) to the present generation that provides ultra-high bandwidth, low latency, high connectivity, and reliability. Unlike previous generations, 5G not only supports real-time multimedia communication applications; it also addresses a broader range of industry needs like machine-to-machine communications, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and edge computing.
As the world embraces the high-performance promise of 5G, a pivotal question emerges: What does it take to fully utilize this immense performance capability? The answer lies with application vendors, the crucial players who make 5G more than just a fast connection, accelerating this network generation’s impact on the industry.
5G, while transformative, is merely a medium. Its full potential gets unleashed only when applications are equipped to exploit that potential. At Shabodi, this realization is distilled into “network-aware applications.”
Why Network-Aware Applications Matter for 5G Acceleration
The advanced network and applications landscape offers a glimpse into the future. As more and more sectors and organizations invest in 5G networks, the applications that utilize 5G’s full potential stand to redefine operations and experiences across multiple sectors.
But what differentiates 5G from previous generation networks, especially in the context of its interaction with applications?
The answer is that 5G goes beyond network connectivity for applications. It enables an advanced level of interaction between applications and the network, frequently referred to as ‘network-aware’ or ‘5G-aware’ applications. Network-aware applications can actively interact with the network through APIs, enabling applications to request a variety of network services in real-time, including Quality-on-Demand. This network-awareness proves particularly advantageous for applications intermittently relying on high bandwidth and low latency to maintain seamless operations.
Two examples from the manufacturing and healthcare sectors illustrate the vast possibilities when 5G and network-aware applications come together:
Elevating Healthcare with Applications-First Strategy for 5G
5G’s implementation in healthcare offers significant advancements through Augmented Reality (AR) and immersive video applications. Shabodi’s network-aware application strategy supports remote clinical collaboration and expert guidance, virtual medical consultations, and surgical planning with AR, improving precision and accessibility.
Shabodi’s partnerships with Booz Allen Hamilton and Innokrea exemplify how these applications leverage 5G to create tangible, positive impacts on the industry and individual lives, bridging gaps and enhancing care outcomes.
Shabodi & Booz Allen Hamilton: Empowering Emergency First-Responders
Booz Allen Hamilton and Shabodi to build the innovative Mobile Medic application, establishing dependable and secure communication pathways between first responders and emergency medical staff. This allows reliable, timely, and spatially aware remote expert advice for paramedics during medical emergencies.
Mobile Medic utilizes Shabodi NetAware’s APIs for network awareness to dynamically adjust Quality of Service (QoS) on the fly, guaranteeing robust and rapid critical communication—5G’s capabilities that become attainable only through network-aware applications.
Chris Christou, Senior Vice President at Booz Allen Hamilton, recognized network-aware applications’ capabilities in mission-critical emergencies. He says, “Our partnership with Shabodi and 5G OIL in the development of the Mobile Medic app typifies how innovation looks – startups, VC-backed incubators, and technology integrators working together to produce novel applications. By utilizing Shabodi’s Application Enablement Platform, our application can prioritize and maintain critical communications during emergencies. Mobile Medic promises to democratize the emergency care landscape and make it far more reliable.”
Transforming Manufacturing with Application-First Strategy for 5G
Use cases like immersive video and Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) built for advanced networks like 5G enhance precision and efficiency in manufacturing. Network-aware applications for these use cases enable real-time communication, safety, scalability, and sustainability. Through intelligent resource allocation and adaptability, these applications unleash the real potential of 5G.
Shabodi’s application partners, such as Megh Computing, are driving massive transformations with network-aware applications, realizing the potential of advanced networks like 5G for spatial awareness and operational efficiency.
Shabodi & Megh Computing: Making Video Analytics More Reliable
Utilizing Shabodi NetAware, Megh Computing’s video analytics applications, typically built for smart city, factory, and warehousing needs, gain network awareness. This enables them to dynamically request Quality of Service on Demand (QoS), ensuring that specific video cameras are allocated the guaranteed bandwidth and necessary latency parameters they require. Further, the real-time interplay between Megh Computing’s application and Shabodi NetAware delivers the capability to modify frame rates based on the number of cameras used at any given time.
Network-Aware Application Development: Easier Said Than Done
While 5G does promise immense potential in mission-critical use cases and industry sectors, the path to building network-aware applications for 5G isn’t without challenges.
It requires diverse skill sets to come together: application development, a deep understanding of telecom and network protocols, standards, and more. This multidimensionality can inflate costs for application vendors and, subsequently, enterprise customers.
Shabodi: Built to Simplify and Accelerate Application Development for 5G
With RESTful Application Programming Interfaces (API) that expose network capabilities, Shabodi’s Application Enablement Platform (NetAware) eliminates the complexities typically associated with application development for 5G or any advanced network. These APIs allow developers to ensure their applications perform consistently on advanced networks like 5G without diving deep into the intricacies of telecom and network protocols, underlying network infrastructure, configurations, and policies.
With Shabodi, developers of all skill levels, even those without deep telecom and networking knowledge, are empowered to leverage 5G programmable capabilities in their applications. All they have to do is call Shabodi’s RESTful APIs, and their applications can exert influence over the network, whether that involves increasing or decreasing bandwidth and latency, among other services.
How APIs for network-aware applications work
When an application developer opts for a conventional approach, without Shabodi NetAware’s APIs, they would be tasked with coordinating actions across numerous network nodes and executing multiple API calls for each network element. In contrast, with Shabodi NetAware, they would only need to invoke a RESTful API and pass a few parameters.
Industry-leading technology integrators and applications companies like Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH), Megh Computing, and Innokrea have already partnered with Shabodi to build network-aware applications that unleash the real potential of 5G.
Collaborative Application Innovation: The Future of 5G and Advanced Networks
It is abundantly clear to all stakeholders that advanced networks like 5G are not just about faster connectivity. Network-aware applications push the boundaries of innovation and efficiency and reduce operational costs.
As Shabodi gears up for the Mobile World Congress in Las Vegas, our message to application vendors is clear: The 5G era is here, and the time to lead its narrative is now. It is up to you to:
-Empower your developers with simple RESTful APIs to build network-aware applications.
-Accelerate time-to-market for mission-critical solutions.
-Expand revenue streams for 5G and beyond.
