Architectural enhancements, challenges and future trends in real-time IoT applications over 5G networks

Nowamagbe, Precious and Akande, Samuel Oluwatosin and Atolagbe, Goodness Damilare and Adefemi, Bankole and Boluwade, Adeniyi Joshua and Nzekwe, Christopher Chibuike and Agu, Izunna Norbert (2025) Architectural enhancements, challenges and future trends in real-time IoT applications over 5G networks. Global Journal of Engineering and Technology Advances, 15 (3). pp. 167-179. ISSN 2582-5003

The introduction of real-time Internet of Things (IoT) applications has introduced unprecedented demands on communication systems, which require ultra-low latency, high reliability, and massive device connectivity. Fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks represent a foundational shift in network architecture, offering advanced capabilities such as ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC), mobile edge computing (MEC), and network slicing to support time-sensitive IoT services at scale. This review critically examines how these architectural enhancements enable real-time IoT deployment across domains, with inclusion of autonomous transportation, industrial automation, remote healthcare, and smart energy systems. While 5G provides a robust framework, its real-world adoption has faced technical constraints related to interoperability, spectrum management, energy efficiency, and cybersecurity. The paper synthesizes existing research on these challenges, and highlight persistent integration gaps and trade-offs that must be navigated to achieve deterministic performance in complex environments. In response, future research directions are proposed, including AI-driven orchestration, blockchain-based trust models, and emerging sixth-generation (6G) technologies. This work provides a comprehensive foundation for scalable, secure, and latency-guaranteed designs of real-time IoT systems in the 5G era and beyond.