5G, the future of the world
5g is the latest generation of mobile network designed to connect virtually everyone and everything together such as smart devices, vehicles, and even industrial machinery.
With the 5g technology, users can experience fast download speeds and insanely fast response time referred as latency. Latency is the time it takes for devices to respond to each other over any wireless network. 3g networks have a response time around 100 milliseconds, 4g networks around 30 milliseconds and 5g networks predict the latency figures as low as 1 millisecond. This virtually instantaneous communication will open up a new world of possibilities for anything with an established network connection. Interactive technologies such as augmented reality and self-driving cars require extremely low latency to work effectively, pushing 5g networks to not only hit their goal of 1 millisecond latency but to surpass it.
5g signals operate over previously untouched radio frequencies. part of the network operates in a band known as “sub 6” which is the spectrum between 600 megahertz and 6 gigahertz, which is the spectrum that 4g lte also shares. However, only 5g can go above and beyond these frequencies into higher bandwidths, which makes it unique. 5g signals can utilize higher band of radio frequencies from 24 gigahertz to 86 gigahertz resulting higher data rates and performance, but with the trade-off of reduced range. These new 5g radio waves can carry way more data to and from devices, but the providers have to install a large number of small cellular towers in close proximity to each other to deliver the network. These towers hold cell sites that can be easily fixed to building roof tops or light poles, but each one has to be physically installed which is why the rollout of 5g is going to take some time.
5g operates on three different spectrum bands between 600 megahertz and 86 gigahertz. Let’s quickly go through those spectrum bands.
1. Low band spectrum
5g running on the low band will only achieve the speed around 20 times faster than the current 4g network, with the peak data speeds around 100 megabits per second, but the low band offers the widest coverage and best wall penetration.
2. High band spectrum
5g running on high band spectrum offers the highest performance. However it’s not without its drawback either, high band spectrum can offer peak speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second and has almost non-existent latency, but its coverage area is narrow and penetration is poor. In order to utilize this network to its full potential, users will have to access plenty of cells that are all relatively close by.
3. mid-band spectrum
Mid-band spectrum offers a balance of both speed and coverage. It provides faster speeds and lower latency than low band, with peak speeds of up to 1 gigabits per second. This doesn’t compete with high band in terms of power, but in real world use and for most applications it will be more than enough. The coverage and penetration of mid band will also make it a very reliable and consistent connection.
The most prominent advantage of 5g over previous networks is the speed. The predicted speeds of 5g is up to 10 gigabits per second, means a 100 times increase in performance compared to existing 4g networks. The speeds will unlock the full capabilities of other emerging technologies including self-driving cars, drones, virtual reality, augmented reality and of the internet of things. Another advantage of 5g is the latency Improvements. Latency of the 5g network will be around or less than 1 millisecond which is quicker than human visual processing. This makes it possible to control devices remotely in near real time.
Another great aspect of 5g is the capacity. It can deliver up to 1 000 times more capacity than 4g, which basically means more room for connected devices and users. This combination of capacity and speed will greatly improve data transfer rate of the network which is also known as the bandwidth.
There are a ton of good things to say about 5g, but there are some groups who believe that 5g is a toxic technology, due to the microwave spectrum radiations. 5g does emit microwave radiation same as the 4g, wi-fi, or Bluetooth. The reason why there’s so much concern about 5g is that the higher frequencies that it operates. But the scientific evidences shows that, even the highest 5g frequencies sit way below the types of harmful radiations that are considered unsafe for continuous exposure. One major downside of 5g is the increased battery drain in smart devices. However this issue is sure to be addressed and rectified within the next generations. Currently, 5g coverage is only available in defined areas of specific cities but the expansion will start to gain momentum again as we move beyond the restrictions of the 2020 pandemic. The bottom line of 5g is that it’s safe fast and undoubtedly going to change the connected world.
