Next-Gen IoT: 5G Realities and 6G Possibilities

In a world where technology reigns supreme, the Internet of Things has taken center stage, revolutionizing our lives in countless ways. Augmented reality, crystal-clear video streaming, self-driving cars, intelligent environments, and advanced healthcare are just a few examples of the IoT’s widespread impact. With these groundbreaking ideas in mind, the IoT demands faster data rates, wider bandwidth, increased capacity, swift data transmission, and minimal delays. Addressing these requirements head-on, this paper introduces 5G as the leading-edge technology capable of meeting these challenges. The fifth-generation cellular networks, known as 5G, offer a host of vital features that facilitate the widespread adoption of IoT. These features include device-to-device communication, where devices can directly exchange information without relying on a central server, coordinated multipoint processing to enhance network efficiency, massive machine type communication that enables seamless connectivity for countless IoT devices, ultra-reliable low latency communication to ensure critical data is transmitted swiftly and reliably, and extreme mobile broadband to support high-speed, uninterrupted connectivity on the go. It has paved ways for innovative wireless architecture and intelligent services and 6 G which will be the next step in this evolutionary cycle of wireless networks is expected to amplify this development to new and unimaginable levels. This article gives an extensive overview of the IoT technology, outlining its statistical and architectural trends, application scenarios, challenges and its potential. The research also offers a thorough and in-depth analysis of the current 5G-IoT environment. The use cases for 5 G in IoT systems are also emphasized. As a result, we discuss some of the key 5G IoT research directions and trends. After which we highlight the challenging areas of 5G-IoT and where special emphasis will be a necessity in paving the way for 6 G enabled IoT.