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Technology Trends/5G Networks (view source)

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5G Networksalso known as 5G NR (“new radio”), stands for 5th-Generation cellular wireless technology. In the mobile universe, a generation (a ‘G’) usually indicates a compatibility break – meaning that users will need new equipment. Although wireless generations have technically been defined by their data transmission speeds, each has also been marked by a break in encoding methods, or “air interfaces,” that make it incompatible with the previous generation.

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5G Networksalso known as 5G NR (“new radio”), stands for 5th-Generation cellular wireless technology.<ref>Sega, Sashca, “What is 5G”, PCMag, 20 March 2018. [https://www.pcmag.com/article/345387/what-is-5g]</ref> In the mobile universe, a generation (a ‘G’) usually indicates a compatibility break – meaning that users will need new equipment<ref>Segan, S., & Segan, S. (2019, January 07). 5G vs. 5G E vs. 5GHz: What's the Difference? [https://www.pcmag.com/article/365754/5g-vs-5g-e-vs-5ghz-whats-the-difference]</ref>. Although wireless generations have technically been defined by their data transmission speeds, each has also been marked by a break in encoding methods, or “air interfaces,” that make it incompatible with the previous generation.<ref>Sega, Sashca, “What is 5G”, PCMag, 20 March 2018. [https://www.pcmag.com/article/345387/what-is-5g]</ref>

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<h5>Public Safety & Concerns Regarding Espionage</h5>

As of May 2019, the GC is conducting a cybersecurity review of 5G technology and potential equipment suppliers. Currently, the main suppliers globally include Nokia, Ericsson, Samsung, Qualcomm, and Huawei, with the greatest concerns involving the latter company. In 2018, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States all banned the use of Huawei telecom equipment in its 5G networks after concerns that the company had ties to the Chinese government, which could potentially use Huawei to help it perform espionage or to attack vital public infrastructure by the deployment of malicious code. Huawei has vehemently denied these allegations to date. The United Kingdom has ordered a partial ban of Huawei in the core of its 5G network. Other European countries have so far refrained from doing so.

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While it is normally the responsibility of Canadian carriers, like Bell, Rogers, and Telus, to ensure the security of their networks, the GC has an obligation towards public safety, of which cybersecurity is a part. As of May 1, 2019, according to Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, the minister responsible for national security and Canada’s National Cyber Security Strategy, the security review over 5G including Huawei’s potential role is ongoing and a final decision is expected by Fall 2019. Regardless of this decision, ongoing efforts will be needed by both carriers as well as the GC in terms of network security, similar to how it is with current 4G LTE.

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While it is normally the responsibility of Canadian carriers, like Bell, Rogers, and Telus, to ensure the security of their networks, the GC has an obligation towards public safety, of which cybersecurity is a part. As of May 1, 2019, according to Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, the minister responsible for national security and [https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/ntnl-cbr-scrt-strtg/index-en.aspx/ Canada’s National Cyber Security Strategy], the security review over 5G including Huawei’s potential role is ongoing and a final decision is expected by Fall 2019. Regardless of this decision, ongoing efforts will be needed by both carriers as well as the GC in terms of network security, similar to how it is with current 4G LTE.

<h5>Other Investments & Initiatives</h5>

On March 19, 2018 the GC announced its investment in the 5G test corridor between Quebec and Ontario. The investment in ENCQOR represents a step in the adoption of the next generation of wireless technology. The GC is partnering with several private industry partners and demonstrates an important example of collaboration among all stakeholders. 5G will demand a huge infrastructure overhaul that must be accounted for.

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SSC has made considerable shifts in the modernization of the GC data centres, as well as the brokerage of cloud services in terms of data processing and storage. However, as technology evolves, edge computing will provide a complement to these two models. “By 2022, more than 50% of enterprise-generated data will be created and processed outside of the data centre or cloud” according to Gartner research. Edge computing is advancing as a solution to latency issues from one machine to another. 5G will help to improve bandwidth, and therefore latency issues in its own right, thus being able to support a greater density of edge and other devices. 5G will also help enable data to get to their end points (whether cloud or data center) faster for processing and storage.

<h4>Challenges</h4>

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~~There are weaknesses~~ in ~~terms~~ of ~~technological complexity~~, ~~intensive computational and storage demands~~ and a ~~requirement~~ for ~~common software across all nodes~~. ~~There are significant challenges particularly important within a governmental process~~. ~~Truly digital assets~~ with a ~~single copy can be destroyed~~ and a ~~government~~ network ~~housing such assets would represent~~ a ~~very public target for malicious actors~~.<~~ref~~>~~Vallée~~, J.-C. L. (~~April 2018~~). ~~[Vallée~~, J.-C. ~~L. (April 2018)~~. ~~[https://www~~.~~conferenceboard~~.~~ca/temp/7dc77c07-7e5a-4be6-ad6d-7d1070f9ac20/9591_Cautious%20Optimism_BR~~.~~pdf Adopting Blockchain~~ to ~~Improve~~ Canadian ~~Government Digital Services]~~. ~~Retrieved~~ on ~~23 May 2019 Adopting Blockchain to Improve Canadian Government Digital Services]~~. ~~Retrieved~~ on ~~23 May~~ 2019~~</ref>~~

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First, compatible devices will need to be re-issued to all GC employees throughout Canada. Current devices will not be compatible with 5G networks nor will automatic updates be available. Only 5G compatible devices can be used on 5G networks (they can also be used on 4G networks). However, an immediate update will probably not be required. Initially, 5G launches will use 4G networks and equipment and not standalone. Regardless, a complete renewal of all GC devices over roughly the same time period will be a massive logistical and financial undertaking. Nonetheless, to maintain itself as a digitally-enabled government that can best serve Canadians, one of the main strategic themes outlined in the [https://www.canada.ca/en/government/system/digital-government/digital-operations-strategic-plan-2018-2022.html/ Digital Operations Strategic Plan 2018-2022] and also outlined in [http://www.clerk.gc.ca/local_grfx/bp2020/bp2020-eng.pdf/ Blueprint 2020], this investment will be critical.

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Second, 5G will in part be broadcast using millimeter waves, which have frequencies between 30 and 300 GHz. The problem with mmWaves is that they typically have poor range and are susceptible to interference and blockage by objects, such as buildings, trees, even rain and clouds. This presents an obstacle in terms of ensuring adequate device coverage. Moreover, interference and range problems can prevent certain vital systems from working at all, such as weather forecasting, SmartCities initiatives, medical procedures, and military and policing operations. To get around this, “small cells”, the term devised to describe the use of many small antennas, towers, and transmitters in a dense area, will need to be deployed. This will significantly alter the current network structures that we have now and may prove difficult in some remote or rural areas.

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Lastly, the arrival of 5G may bring about occupational health & safety concerns from employees and citizens in general regarding radiation exposure from the increased number of antennas and towers in closer proximity to where people live and work. Even with current 4G technology and existing telecommunications equipment, there are some who believe that devices and their equipment pose a threat to human health. However, no research has currently shown a definitive risk. Health Canada has developed guidelines for safe human exposure to radiofrequency (RF) energy. 5G RF is well-below the high end safety range of 300 GHz.

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<h4>Considerations</h4>

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The largest impact 5G networks will have on SSC is in its datacenters. 5G promises to support higher network traffic at greater speeds with lower latency. It also means that applications will begin to be designed to use 5G networks. The shift to 5G will still require data centers to perform many of the same tasks except on a much larger scale. Datacenters will need to become decentralized and follow a two and/or three tier model to provide low latency processing at the edge of the network while maintaining a central data aggregation and coordination role. Datacenters will also require an increase in bandwidth, processing power and storage.

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5G will also transform the traditional cellular architecture. Having a two-tier architecture as explained in the technological brief requires heightened security. This is because using devices to connect to each other to establish a network connection means there isn’t only one central base station to protect. Now, the provider will have to also focus on protecting against the devices that establish the connections themselves. Security will be a vital concern for SSC moving into the 5G era as IoT devices will all be connected. This increased number of IoT devices brings forth a high amount of network traffic.

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Companies like Cisco and Ericsson have begun using software-defined-networks (SDNs) and network functions virtualization (NFV) because they are more flexible and can dynamically support a growing number of devices. SDNs decouples the hardware from the software, meaning tasks can be performed in the cloud or in clusters of servers. NFVs, which are usually used in combination with SDNs, shift network functions from being hardware-specific to being able to run in virtual machines. These are viable options for SSC moving forward as the department migrates to the cloud while entering the 5G era.

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5G networks are considered not simply an evolution in technology, but a revolution. It has the potential to significantly alter the way data is transmitted, processed, and by whom (or what). It may be necessary for SSC to investigate the potential of enterprise 5G networks, as many large business enterprises have begun. Due to certain “mission critical” operations performed by various government departments, such as National Defence and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) amongst others, the development of private 5G networks may be necessary for the sharing of sensitive information or when public infrastructure and networks may not be reliable or deemed secure.

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Despite the advantages of 5G, there will be initial upfront financial and human resources costs. Not only will updating and deployment of current infrastructure and devices be required, but densification of infrastructure will also be an inevitable result of 5G technology. Due to the challenges in transmission distances and interference, small cell deployments of radio towers and antennas, possibly on each government building throughout the country, may be necessary. This has impacts on budgets and manpower.

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Finally, lessons can be learned from the early 5G adopters. At present, 5G technology is still very much immature and not deployed on a wide scale globally. However, in April 2019, South Korea became the first country to fully adopt 5G and expect close to 1 million users by the end of June 2019. Within these early months of its launch, complaints arose from users regarding coverage issues and speed, mostly as a result of a lack of base stations (towers and antennas) outside of densely populated urban areas. Carriers have responded by installing 3,000-4,000 new stations weekly in order to meet the demand and resolve issues. This highlights the importance of needing key infrastructure in place prior to launch in order to prevent the alienation and frustration of clients.

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It is important to remember that Blockchain, while a technological innovation in transactional business and chain of digital custody, is not a single solution to transactional challenges facing the GC.

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The amount of time and energy required to maintain the blockchain and create new blocks is not small and this is a frequent criticism of the technology. Conventional database entry, such as using SQL, takes only milliseconds, compared to blockchain, which takes several minutes. Due to the length of time required as well as the need for multiple computers to verify the blocks, blockchains consume an enormous amount of energy. However, as technology advances, the blockchain consensus process takes closer to three minutes with Ethereum, which is currently among the most advanced blockchains available.xxiii Even older blockchains, such as Bitcoin, are still faster than traditional financial transactions, such as the stock exchange, which can take days to be verified and finalized. Despite this, services or transactions that require rapid speed, may not be suitable for blockchain.

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There are also some concerns with respect to privacy. Since blockchain is built on the premise of decentralization and transparency, the data within the chain is technically available for anyone on the network, provided they have the computational power and knowledge to gain access. Instead of being identified on the network by name, users have encryption keys, which is a list of seemingly random numbers and letters. While more private than a name or other demographic information, users could still be identified by their keys over time. Also, any data contained within a block that may have personal information that an individual wishes to keep private, such as medical records for example, may not be well suited for a blockchain as it will be transparent and visible to other users.<ref>Diedrich, H. (2016). Ethereum: Blockchains, Digital Assets, Smart Contracts, Decentralized Autonomous Organizations. Scotts Valley: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.</ref>

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~~<h4>Considerations</h4>~~

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By using an agreed upon consensus algorithm, collaborative technology like Blockchain promises the ability to improve the business processes that occur between organizations and entities, radically lowering the “cost of trust.” The cost of trust is lowered because there is only one record of a transaction that needs to be kept and all stakeholders trust that record.

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In a traditional transaction, all stakeholders have to keep a record of the transaction and in the case of a discrepancy, it was more difficult / costly to determine the accuracy of a record. As a result, Blockchain may offer significantly higher returns for each investment dollar spent than that of traditional internal investments. However, to doing so, it means collaborating with customers, citizens, suppliers and competitors in new ways.<ref>Treasury Board of Canada, Blockchain: Ideal Use Cases for the Government of Canada, 5. </ref>

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Further research is needed to understand the potential impacts that blockchain could have on SSC as a service provider as well on the usage amounts the GC would require. SSC should consider the identification of client areas where blockchain may be leveraged. It may be required that client departments self-identify spaces which could benefit from blockchain processes. A challenge for SSC will be to identify which partner organizations and enterprise solutions require priority blockchain pilot projects as well as be able to identify departments that emerge as leaders and how they deal with privacy, confidentiality, auditability, performance and scalability.

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Lastly, SSC and the GC should consider the capacity issues in resources, network capabilities, and time required to create and maintain blockchain networks on its own. Blockchain is not a pedestrian technology, it will require dedicated teams that are appropriately resourced and financed in order for the technology to be deployed as any other service. SSC may wish to consider looking for private sector companies that specialize in providing Blockchain as a Service (BaaS), and determine the risk and cost benefits of outsourcing this process altogether.

<h2>Hype Cycle</h2>

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