5G and The Internet of Skills

Mischa Dohler is a telecommunications innovator known for his pioneering work on 5G wireless communications, the Internet of Skills, and Smart Cities.

In this episode of Create the Future, we speak with Mischa about what 5G is and how might improve our lives. We discuss the improvements made to cellular networks since the days of 2G, why collaboration in telecommunications and engineering is becoming increasingly important, and how Mischa managed to combine his love for music and technology in the world’s first 5G concert.

About the guest

Mischa Dohler is Chair Professor of Wireless Communications at King’s College London, driving cross-disciplinary research and innovation in technology, sciences and arts. He is a Fellow of the IEEE, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Royal Society of Arts, the Institution of Engineering and Technology. He is a serial entrepreneur with 5 companies; composer and pianist; and fluent in several languages. He sits on the Spectrum Advisory Board of Ofcom, and acts as policy advisor on issues related to digital, skills and education. A pioneer in several research fields, he has also contributed to numerous wireless broadband, IoT/M2M and cyber security standards.

Episode Highlights

• “You cannot think of anything in engineering which is done by a single engineer, we are by definition a collaborative cohort. We have to work together. All the big challenges of the 21st century are really mechanical engineering, electrical, electronic engineering, chemical engineering, material science… all together.”
• “Engineers keep things very tangible. That's what I like about engineering. The field really moves on very quickly, but there's a bit of trial and error.”
• “The data speeds from 3G to 4G to 5G multiplied by 10. The same happens with the latency delay when you load a website. That decreased from 100 milliseconds with 4G to 10 milliseconds with 5G.”
  “We believe that decoupling the hardware, middleware and software that runs 5G really will accelerate innovation, because everybody can work at much quicker cycles. This is really one of the big revolutions happening in 5G.”
• “Telecoms in the 21st century, I think it will really be a cornerstone of so many things. It is an engineering career really worth pursuing.”
• “It is extremely complicated that you can buy a phone in the UK with a SIM card from Spain, which uses an operating system made in the US, and you're in South America calling your friend in Australia. We created the building blocks of an entire system.”
• “Traditionally we're very good at upskilling people to become the most fantastic engineers, but they're not so good at communicating this. I think engineering really needs more teaching of soft skills such as: leadership, management, entrepreneurship, and being entrepreneurial.”
• “After the Internet of Things I believe the next generation will be the Internet of Skills. We can transmit audio and video today, but can't touch. I can't repair an engine through the internet. Imagine if you could do that in five to six years time.”

Photo by Manik Roy on Unsplash