5G, Control Rooms and IP KVM: The Perfect Partners

5G is the fifth generation of cellular technology designed to increase speed, reduce latency, and improve the flexibility of wireless services. The technology has a theoretical peak speed of 20 Gbps, while the peak speed of 4G is only 1 Gbps (Cisco).

To put that into perspective, downloading a two-hour HD movie (around 6 GB) would take just a couple of minutes on a 5G connection, compared to several minutes on 4G. This leap in speed illustrates how 5G isn’t just an incremental upgrade – it’s a step change that enables near-instant data transfer for everything from personal media streaming to mission-critical control room operations.

Having been rolled out progressively since the late 2010s, 5G is now well established in many parts of the world. It continues to expand rapidly, delivering real-world improvements in speed, reliability, and connectivity while underpinning major advances in automation, IoT, and immersive digital experiences.

While earlier generations of mobile communications, such as 3G and 4G, offered luxuries like video calling and faster browsing, 5G goes much further – allowing almost any mobile application to connect to anything, at any time, in a flexible and reliable way. It also provides increased network capacity, better signal strength and significantly lower latency.

From media and entertainment services to industrial applications, 5G connectivity is dynamically changing the characteristics of networks. The technology presents enormous opportunities to boost productivity and drive growth across both private and public sectors.

Adopting 5G in the Control Room

The control room is often viewed as the central nervous system of an organization – with operators continually monitoring and analyzing critical data to make split-second decisions. Until recently, the quantity of data entering the control room has been relatively stable. However, the widespread rollout of 5G and the ultra-fast connectivity it enables will deliver significantly more data to the control room than ever before.

According to Ericsson’s Mobility Report 2024, average global mobile data traffic per smartphone is expected to rise from 21 GB per month in 2023 to around 56 GB per month by 2029 – a near threefold increase.

By that same year, it’s estimated that there will be more than 5.5 billion 5G connections worldwide (GSMA Intelligence, 2024), underlining the scale of global adoption and its transformative impact on data generation and consumption.

The continued expansion of 5G networks allows consumers and organizations to record and share high-value content – some of which will be invaluable to control room operations – fundamentally changing industries such as broadcasting and post-production (Frame.io).

To illustrate, imagine a fleet of high-definition body cameras worn by emergency responders. Each camera continuously streams real-time footage over a 5G connection to a control room. Within milliseconds, that high-volume video data is routed through a powerful IP KVM system, enabling operators to instantly switch between feeds, analyze incoming images, and coordinate field teams with precision. Without 5G’s bandwidth and the low-latency performance of IP KVM, that kind of instant situational awareness simply wouldn’t be possible.

However, this influx of big data could easily stretch control room resources, flooding them with information from a wide variety of sources. This data is only useful if those working within the control room can process and analyze it in real time to extract actionable insights.

IP KVM in the 5G Control Room

The diversity and volume of data sources enabled by high-bandwidth 5G connections demand careful planning. Teams must understand how data will be consumed across departments – who needs access, how it will be displayed and where decision-makers must be positioned to act instantly.

KVM technology addresses these challenges directly. It provides operators with the flexibility to adapt their network architecture as needs evolve – adding or removing endpoints, managing user access and scaling operations seamlessly as data volumes grow.

Understanding how technology manages and visualizes data, at what speed, and in what detail, must form the foundation of control room design. Just as importantly, cognitive ergonomics – supporting the mental wellbeing and decision-making clarity of operators – must be considered as critical a function within design as the physical layout.

To find out more about how KVM can ready your control room for future demands, or how connectivity solutions can prepare your business for the Internet of Things (IoT), contact our control room specialists here: Control Rooms | KVM Applications | Adder Technology