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• 5G technology is the latest generation of mobile connectivity. 
• Before implementing 5G, founders should consider exactly what they need the technology to do. 
• Getting expert support and ensuring secure networks are essential for succeeding with 5G.
• This article is part of “5G Playbook,” a series exploring one of our time’s most important tech innovations.

We’re about five years into 5G connectivity and haven’t yet seen the full potential of the technology. Still, even in its current state, 5G — the latest generation of mobile-wireless technology — can connect over longer distances and provide faster speeds than previous generations, which may make it appealing to founders.

Before building 5G into a new business, consider these four factors.

Secure the right kind of 5G connection

5G operates on three different bands: low, mid, and high. Low-band 5G has a far reach but sometimes operates slower than 4G because of having to travel such far distances. Mid-band 5G provides enough coverage and speed difference from 4G to be notable for many businesses. High-band 5G is millimeter wave, also known as mmWave, and though it has faster speeds, the coverage area isn’t as large.

Depending on their business, a founder may want to choose any one of the three. A concert venue could benefit from mmWave, where many devices connect to the internet and send data.

Consider Internet-of-Things solutions

Elina Lidere is the head of innovation ecosystems at LMT Innovations, Latvia’s leading mobile operator and 5G innovator. She works with startups and international organizations such as NATO in their 5G research-and-development efforts. She told Business Insider that one mistake she repeatedly sees founders make is failing to consider different ways companies can use 5G.

LMT works with a guiding principle: “The future is only mobile.” Lidere said it’s helped her imagine what’s possible when it comes to leveraging 5G’s capabilities. “In the near future, everything could be connected, including things that, maybe today, you can’t imagine being connected.”

Despite 5G’s ability to power the Internet of Things, or IoT — allowing machines to talk to one another — many founders have a hard time shifting away from how we currently think about connectivity, which requires a level of human involvement. Think: human operators sending data across WiFi or other connections.

Lidere said that once she challenges founders to move beyond their existing thinking and consider IoT solutions in their products, that’s where the magic happens. She said that the shift toward IoT can often be the most enticing part for investors.

Take advantage of research-and-development labs, accelerators, and hackathons

Not everyone knows a 5G expert, but it’s still possible to access their knowledge through labs, accelerators, and other programs.

In addition to working at LMT, Lidere also mentors at accelerators and hackathons, events where computer programmers and other specialists collaborate intensively over a short time to create code. Her day job allows her access to LMT testbeds, where she’s helped test augmented-reality and virtual-reality solutions for NATO. Universities such as Cambridge and the National Science Foundation have hosted 5G accelerators, and telecommunications companies such as AT&T have labs working to advance innovation.

Don’t forget about security

Lidere said that as much as tech should be practical and easy to use, it should also be safe — something she sees a lot of startups overlook. More specifically, she said, founders can get lost in ensuring a killer use case and aesthetics, but forget entirely about security, leaving their products vulnerable to hackers and data breaches.

She suggested this is likely the case because we’re not yet used to the concept of all these new devices being connected to the internet and interacting with each other versus being connected to the internet and being told how to interact. Ensuring a secure product is paramount for startups looking for growth and partnership opportunities with larger companies.

While 5G is inherently secure, connecting numerous IoT devices can pose certain security risks since many devices mean a larger potential target for hackers. Business owners should be sure to keep IoT devices up to date and ensure device permissions are confined to their specific needs.

• Don’t wait for a better deal in the housing market, Shark Tank’s Barbara Corcoran says.
• As rents and mortgage rates drop, prospective buyers may be tempted to see how low they go.
• “The minute actual interest rates come down just one more point, everybody’s going to jump into the market.”

As mortgage rates and rent prices drop, prospective buyers may be tempted to wait out the fall before diving into the market.

That’s a fool’s errand, “Shark Tank” investor and real-estate legend Barbara Corcoran says.

“You’re much better off buying something now when you can,” Corcoran said in a CNBC interview on Wednesday. “Because if you don’t have a chit in the game, and you continue to be a tenant and wait the market out — which many people are thinking right now they should be doing — they’re dead wrong.”

Redfin noted recently that median asking rents saw their biggest year-over-year drop since February 2020. Corcoran said rent prices had probably hit a short-term peak as inventory concerns eased, but it was a minor decline at best.

Mortgage rates, too, have been sliding on the market’s conviction that the Fed is pivoting to rate cuts soon. The 30-year fixed rate has tumbled to 7.03% from 8% in October. 

Some people have been cashing in on the downtrend. In fact, median home sales prices as of last week are clocking in at $364,535, Redfin data shows. That’s down from $414,000 in October.

But those trying to time the housing market may see their plans backfire.

“The minute actual interest rates come down just one more point, everybody’s going to jump into the market, and you’re going to be paying a lot more for your house,” Corcoran said.

Her advice echoed her previous warnings about home prices back in August when she said, “All hell’s going to break loose” once the Fed cuts rates and mortgages get cheaper.

“If you have any way of getting cash together and getting into the market and buying a house and getting out of a rental, which is tempting to keep because it’s a little cheaper, don’t do it,” she said. “Buy yourself a house.”

Similarly, a Bank of America executive told Business Insider recently that trying to time the housing market by waiting for lower rates wasn’t a good idea.

“It’s really when you’re financially ready, emotionally ready, and, ultimately, you find that home that fits your dreams and/or your needs,” said Matt Vernon, the bank’s head of consumer lending. 

A report from the Sarasota Police Department last month revealed that the Zieglers had a threesome with a woman who has since accused Christian Ziegler of sexual assault, The New York Times reported. Though heavily redacted, the report used the words “raped” and “sexually battered.”

After a consensual threesome with the woman, the group scheduled a second rendezvous, but the unnamed woman canceled after she found out Bridget Ziegler wouldn’t be able to attend, BI previously reported. The woman later told police that Christian Ziegler showed up at her apartment anyway and assaulted her, The Washington Post reported.

In 2021, Bridget Ziegler stopped working with Moms for Liberty, the “parental rights” group she co-founded that rails against LGBTQ books and conversations in schools. The next year, she was elected to the Sarasota County School Board.

The threesome revelation has put pressure on Ziegler to resign from her position on the Sarasota County School Board, which she has thus far declined to do, The Times reported.

County residents have been vocal in public meetings, assailing Ziegler directly for embroiling herself in a sex scandal all while supporting anti-LGBTQ policies.

“Most of our community could not care less what you do in the privacy of your own home, but your hypocrisy takes center stage,” one Sarasota resident told Zeigler during a school board meeting this week, according to The Times.

The members of the school board voted four-to-one on Tuesday in favor of Ziegler resigning. She was the lone vote against the nonbinding resolution, according to The Times.

Christian Ziegler, under investigation by police, faces similar pressure to resign as chairman of the Republican Party of Florida. He reportedly requested a buyout to provide a “soft landing” for his potential resignation, NBC News reported, citing several Republican sources. Ziegler denied the claim to NBC.

Bridget Ziegler did not immediately respond to BI’s request for comment, nor did an attorney for Christian Ziegler.

• Sidney Powell’s 13-word apology letter does not legally matter at all.
• A former federal prosecutor told BI that requiring an apology is very rare, because it’s essentially pointless.
• Powell pleaded guilty in October for her role in attempting to overturn the 2020 election results.

As part of her guilty plea in the Georgia election interference case, former Trump attorney Sidney Powell had to write an apology letter.

There wasn’t much to it.

“I apologize for my actions in connection with the events in Coffee County,” Powell’s one-sentence apology said, with her name and date signed underneath.

At just 13 words, her letter — published for the first time Thursday by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution — was a pretty sorry excuse for a “sorry.”

But, legally, it doesn’t matter at all whether she’s sorry or not.

“From the judge’s perspective, he just needs to make sure that they’re admitting to all the elements of the crime,” attorney and former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Business Insider. “You don’t have to be sorry. You just have to say that you did it. That’s all that’s required for a guilty plea.”

“I mean, legally it has no effect,” Rahmani, the president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, said.

Because apologies are so pointless, Rahmani said he was surprised that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis even required one in the first place.

“It was a strange request,” Rahmani said. “Very uncommon.”

“I’ve put more than a thousand people in prison, and never once did I demand an apology,” he added.

But Rahmani wasn’t surprised that Powell’s apology was so short.

“Because they’re lawyers, right? They’re going to be very careful about what they say,” he said. “And you really are trained as a lawyer to give the bare minimum when you’re required to do so.”

Powell was the fourth defendant in the sprawling Fulton County, Georgia RICO case to plead guilty and apologize, following bail bondsman Scott Hall, ex-Trump attorney Jenna Ellis, and Georgia attorney Kenneth Chesebro.

The case accuses Donald Trump and 18 other co-defendants of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Having so many co-defendants named in the case could be beneficial to Fani Willis’ case against Trump, as each time one flips on the former president, it further isolates him, BI previously reported.

• People are tipping less as Americans keep pushing back against increasing requests. 
• Gratuities for workers in several industries are down compared to prior years, recent data shows. 
• Younger generations are more likely to see tipping as an obligation than older generations. 

America’s tipping slowdown isn’t slowing down.

More and more businesses have been asking people for gratuities in the US — and customers are continuing to push back.

As of November, workers in leisure and hospitality roles (not including restaurant workers) made an average $1.28 an hour in tips, down 7% from the $1.38 an hour a year earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing data from payroll provider Gusto.

This follows on from statistics showing tips for restaurant workers dipped to some of the lowest levels since the pandemic this year. At full-service restaurants, they fell to an average of 19.4% of the total check in the second quarter, down from a high of 19.9% in the first quarter of 2021, data from point-of-sale platform Toast showed. At quick-service restaurants, tips slid slightly in the same period to 16.1% of the total check from 16.4% in the first three months of 2021.

The pullback comes after a fierce consumer backlash against the post-pandemic rise in gratuity requests, which is partially fueled by automatic point-of-sale tipping screens. Some have even declared that tipping culture is now “out of control.” It’s also left many Americans unsure about the guidelines, namely: When is it ok to tip, when is it a nicety, and when is it ok to decline a tip entirely?

Customers are being nudged “for more money in more places than ever before,” said Thomas P. Farley, or “Mister Manners,” an etiquette expert. “It was only a matter of time before actual tipping amounts began to decline.”

Some businesses are having to raise worker pay to offset the drop, the WSJ reported. It also noted that some states are pushing for tipped workers to make the full federal minimum wage, which totals $7.25 an hour. That compares to the federal tipped minimum wage many bar and restaurant workers earn of $2.13 an hour.

Demographically, younger generations — adults under 30 — are more likely than older generations to view tipping as an obligation, according to a report by Pew that surveyed close to 12,000 Americans in August. Those 65 and older said they see tipping as more of a choice, compared to a smaller share in younger groups.

Best Fitbit: Fitbit Sense 2

For a smartwatch that excels as a reliable sleep tracker, Fitbit’s Sense 2 is at the front of the pack. It not only tracks your sleep each night and provides in-depth data but it also offers unique recommendations on how to improve your rest via several metrics. There are plenty of wearables that try to offer this level of insight but the Sense 2 does it best.

What sets the Sense 2 apart is how comprehensive the data it provides is. For example, after a night of sleep, the Fitbit app displays metrics showing how well I rested. These include time spent in REM, deep, and light sleep, as well as other factors like time spent awake, how restless I might have been, and what my heart rate was. 

The Fitbit app can then recommend ways to improve my sleep to better my nightly score. This may include certain workouts, when to work out, or how to keep a consistent sleep schedule. Once I got the hang of using the recommendations, they made a noticeable difference.

It’s worth noting that one major hurdle to having all the sleep data available is to have Fitbit Premium, the subscription part of the Fitbit app. Memberships run for $10 per month or $80 per year, and are worth the investment, especially for those intent on using the extra data. 

Fitbit Premium also provides a unique Daily Readiness Score that analyzes your prior day’s activity and rest and creates a numbered score to represent how hard to push yourself. There are in-depth health insights, like heart rate variability, available to subscribers, as well. 

Aside from its capability as a sleep tracker, the Sense 2 is also an excellent fitness tracker. It offers tracking for a variety of activities like running, cycling, and strength training and also uses a skin temperature sensor, has heart rhythm (ECG) readings, and debuted Fitbit’s real-time stress tracker. The stress tracker is especially useful for the feedback it provides on how to lower stress throughout the day.

And while the Fitbit Sense 2 is one of the best smartwatches, its actual smartwatch experience leaves a little to be desired. Yes, it gets notifications like calls, texts, and app updates, but the fact Fitbit removed third-party app support and Google Assistant access is disappointing. There’s also no way to store or play music via the watch.

But I wouldn’t view these as reasons to not buy a Sense 2, especially if you’re looking for a smartwatch with premium sleep tracking. It’s one of the best Fitbits you can buy and while it is a so-so smartwatch, it gets the job done when needed while offering a suite of advanced health and wellness features. 

Read our full review of the Fitbit Sense 2.