What is 5G?
The future of technology greatly depends on increased connectivity with 5G connectivity being the next quantum leap that will propel all aspects of innovation from AI to self-driven cars to mixed reality. 5G is named so, as it is the fifth generation of wireless technology, and is set to bring speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second, wirelessly, making it more than 600 times faster than standard 4G speeds.
While several US carriers have started offering 5G services in multiple cities, initial speeds have not been very promising. This is because they have been offering their 5G services by building on their 4G or LTE networks. However, that is soon to change with major American telecom carriers introducing dedicated 5G networks.
The reason why 5G availability and speeds vary a lot is that it is offered in sections of bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. These include the low-band, which functions below 1Ghz and can only reach speeds of 250 Mbps. However, it has the advantage of increased reach, allowing for broader coverage with fewer towers. Next is the mid-band of the 5G spectrum that analysts believe to be the sweet spot. The mid-band functions between 1GHz and 6 GHz with it being able to balance a reasonably wide geographic reach with speeds of up to 1 Gbps.
Finally, to utilize the very high end of the wireless spectrum and be able to reach the super-high speeds that 5G is capable of, carriers need to integrate millimeter-wave (or mmWave) technology. While this technology can enable 10-Gbps speeds, the challenge is that their signals tend to be a lot less reliable over long distances and are easily blocked by obstacles. This means that for it to be a viable option, carriers would need to install a large number of small access points across a city, as opposed to the large mobile towers currently in place.
Lastly, for the end-users to use these 5G networks, they need to upgrade their devices as well. Major phone makers today are offering 5G handsets, in almost every price range. And with the adoption and proliferation of this technology, it would be safe to assume that almost every handset in use in the future will have 5G capabilities.
