The Internet of Things (IoT) will become the “internet of everything” with the advent of 5G, said Stephane Richard, CEO of Orange, speaking at the “Road to 5G” keynote this morning, explaining his vision for a new horizon for the IoT era.

However, he believes that there is no rush: “4G is a success, let’s enjoy it. We shouldn’t jump too fast” he said, adding that the industry must learn from the lessons of 3G when there was a delay of several years between the launch of the process and the actual reality, which led to much disappointment.

That doesn’t mean, though, that the company isn’t “deeply committed” to 5G and to the ‘public private partnership’ of the European Commission, he said.

In fact, the company believes that 5G is different from 4G because it will have a “greater and different purpose” and needs to have flexibility so that it can accommodate services that have yet to be invented.

According to Richard, “We will soon have programmable networks, making them like clouds, providing a much more agile platform for innovation.”

The CEO also believes that “ironically, the omnipresence of technology is what will give it a more human aspect,” as it will sense the world better through sensors, capture and understand specific situations and become more aware. For instance, autonomous cars will communicate not just with other cars but with parking lots, roads and petrol stations.

“Our role as operators is to use these amazing opportunities to facilities these new usages and “shape a greater world,” he added.

Richard also believes 5G must have green as part of its very DNA, ensuring that all aspects of 5G, from access networks, data centres and transport network to connected devices only consume energy when they are being used.