4G to Still Dominate Asia Pacific in 2020, Says Palo Alto Network

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Cyber security firm Palo Alto Networks predicts the fourth-generation broadband cellular network (4G) will continue to dominate the Asia Pacific in 2020, even though the latest generation 5G is already adopted in a number of countries. 

“The majority of 4G network users will not be replaced by 5G in the year 2020,” said Field Security Officer Palo Alto Networks Asia Pacific, Kevin O'Leary, in the 2020 cybersecurity prediction in Jakarta on Tuesday.

5G in Asia Pacific has only been adopted by China and South Korea, despite not on a massive scale. Looking at the minimum 5G trials in the Asia Pacific region, Palo Alto predicts that the 5G infrastructure development will only be commenced massively in the next 10 years. 

Stated by GSMA, 4G networks will only cover 68 percent of cellphone users in the Asia Pacific region in 2020. 

In terms of security, Palo Alto called for broadband providers to beware of cyber attacks that take advantage of weaknesses in security levels. They also predict 4G will be targeted by hackers as it opens the gate toward the upcoming 5G network. 

Palo Alto Networks argues that 2020 will see a rise in regulations regarding data privacy in the Asia Pacific as Indonesia and India, among others, are in the process of making legal protections on data privacy.

ANTARA