Vodafone Business Chief Executive Officer, Vinod Kumar has delivered a bright prognosis for use of 5G in healthcare applications as authorities look to address weaknesses exposed by the Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.
In a virtual panel session Kumar predicted 5G to “play a massive part” in the next three-to-five years as authorities seek to improve infrastructure used by their healthcare systems.
Kumar noted a significant part of the European Union’s post Covid-19 (coronavirus) recovery fund was earmarked for upgrading healthcare systems, which he believes would include adoption of new technologies.
The Vodafone executive predicted 5G “will play a really big part in everything from connected hospitals to patients using 5G at home for telehealth”.
“I believe in the next few years there will be a massive change in the landscape because [of] the pressure on the system and weaknesses that were identified during Covid.”
Kumar said although “we can always be a bit sceptical about the public sector adopting technology” there was evidence from tenders and discussions with authorities this outlook was changing following the pandemic.
Outside of healthcare, the executive pointed to significant 5G opportunities across sectors including media, entertainment and fan experience.
However, in a session dominated by discussion on new, innovative use cases such as gaming, he was also quick to highlight the benefits brought by simply improving connectivity for the likes of working remotely and home education.
