The Fact And Fiction Of The New 5G
Although everyone wants 5G, many people do not know what it is. The latest cellular mobile technology is called 5G. This is causing excitement among the consumers because their phones will be faster when browsing the web. Even President Donald Trump demanded 5G from the American companies as quickly as possible. He stated 5G was smarter, faster and more powerful than the current standard. He believes the American companies will be left behind if they do not increase their efforts. The most current network is LTE or 4G.
The users of 5G will be provided with a faster rate and more coverage. This will be especially apparent for streaming content including VR and 4k. The push has been felt by the United States cellular providers because 5G is finally arriving. The technology does involve an extra monthly fee. Verizon is charging $10 extra per month for this new technology.
The 5G technology has been tested for months in select markets. AT&T and Verizon have both announced the 5G networks will make their respective debuts in 2019. AT&T is currently conducting testing in New Orleans, Louisville, Houston, Atlanta, Raleigh, Dallas, Oklahoma City, Charlotte, Waco, Jacksonville, Indianapolis and San Antonio. In 2019, more of the major markets will be added. This is increasing the excitement regarding the wide release of 5G. Verizon made a statement during the news this week. The company said the new technology was not comparable to a refrigerator placing an order for milk. Verizon stated 5G was about an improvement for the technology of the Industrial Internet of Things. According to the statement, speeds as high as twenty times faster than 4G technology can be provided by Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband.
This kind of responsiveness has the potential to supercharge and streamline the Industrial Internet of Things. This should lead to growth within the industrial sector. AT&T has provided their customers with an outline similar to the 5G mission of Verizon for their users. AT&T has been conducting beta-testing on their network. This has led to some confusion because the current network was originally called 5G evolution by AT&T. Essentially this was nothing more than a rebranding of 4G. AT&T is calling their current new millimeter-wave network the 5G NR network. It is important to realize all of the carriers are going to be rebranding and tweaking their networks until the entire nation is able to receive 5G on a roll-out basis. Despite the demands of President Trump, the 5G conversions may require years, especially for the more rural and remote regions.
The Possibilities of the New 5G Technology
A good example is an individual stopped by a red traffic light. Once the light turns green, the person removes their foot from the brake and starts to proceed. The vehicle can sense an approaching car going too fast with the potential to run the red light. The brakes are applied by the car to keep the occupants safe as the other vehicle drives through the red light. The current systems to avoid crashes use, cameras, motion sensors or both, but this is not how the vehicle determined the occupants were in danger. The car used a wireless 5G system to communicate with the other car. This is how the car knew the speed, direction of travel and if the driver of the other vehicle was using the brakes. The power of 5G enabled the car to save the life of the occupants.
This is only one of thousands of scenarios the new generation of wireless networks will make possible if the equipment vendors and carrier marketing departments can be believed. The deployments in the real world will most likely play out differently. There is a good chance the initial deployment will not live up to the swelling excitement of the consumers. The fifth generation of technology for wireless networking is 5G. The power of the high speeds people are experiencing on their mobile devices comes from 4G. For the past five to eight years, the prevailing technology has remained 4G. According to Open Signal, a maximum of 16.9 Mbps are delivered by 4G per second on a global basis. The promise of 5G is one Gbps per second. Videos can be streamed by 4G in full HD. Content including HDR and 4k can be streamed by 5G.
There is a lot more to 5G than just speed. The standard for 5G is called 5G NR or 5G New Radio. There are shifts in the number of devices able to connect to the cell site signal and the number of cell sites required. The current networks can use the signal from 200-foot towers to blanket a big area. There are roughly 25,000 towers placed throughout the United States. The 5G cell sites will require more sites because each one will cover a much smaller area. More devices will be able to connect to the network simultaneously. This is important because the amount of devices will demand additional data. This is about more than phones, the coverage must include both cars and sensors. Another 5G goal is to lower latency. This is the length of time the network requires for response to a request.
The current latency is approximately nine milliseconds. This will decrease to one millisecond with 5G. This is crucial for automotive applications. The distance a vehicle travels at sixty mph must be compared to one millisecond. This distance can result in either life or death. Latency is also important for playing multiplayer video games online and the exploration of virtual reality. Spectrum is important for 5G as well. Two basic types of airwaves are being prepared for 5G. Anything above six GHz is referred to as an mmWave. Anything below is called GHz. The mmWaves in the United States are currently focusing on the 39 GHz and 28 GHz bands. The sub-six GHz band falls into the 3.5 GHz band. The higher spectrum airwaves have more availability.
The Companies Expected to Provide 5G Services
The new 5G will be provided by the same companies offering 4G today. The major carriers in the United States are Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, Sprint and AT&T. All of these companies are working on 5G networks. Each company has a different window for launch, but they are all getting close. The efforts of the network providers are being supported by a lot of telecommunications equipment. The leaders in 5G modems are Intel and Qualcomm.
The backhaul gear and tower creations are being led by Nokia and Ericsson. This gear will be used in the United States and China’s Huawei and ZTE. The deployment of 5G networks in Europe and Asia will play an even larger role. The devices are being prepared for 5G by the gadget makers. The first phone enabling 5G is expected to be launched by LG early next year. A 5G modem was developed by Motorola for attachment to the Moto Z3 smartphone.
The Potential Launch of 5G
Verizon already began the launch with what they are claiming is the first 5G network in the country. Unfortunately, their claims are not true. The technology being used by Verizon is not conforming to the 3GPP 5G NR standards of the industry standards body. Verizon is still using their proprietary 5G TF standard. The company is planning to transition to the 5G NR as soon as possible.
The 5G Verizon service is only available in Sacremento, Los Angeles, Indianapolis and Houston as a cable or fiber replacement. The service is beamed to the home or business through the tower. The equipment receives the signal from special equipment to provide internet service. This service is not yet available for mobile devices including laptops, phones and cars. The 5G mobile service from Verizon is expected to launch during the first part of 2019.
The mobile 5G launch by AT&T is being planned for up to nineteen markets by the end of 2019. The indications of the company are the 5G device will be used as a mobile hotspot to connect numerous devices to the network simultaneously. Mobile hotspots are popular for companies needing connectivity on the go for gear including tablets and laptops.
Phones equipped with 5G will be launched by AT&T towards the beginning of 2019. T-Mobile is planning to provide 5G mobile services for an unidentified number of markets during the first half of 2019. The entire country will be reached by 2020. The plans for Sprint regarding 5G are less specific. A 5G phone should be released in 2019.
The Capabilities of 5G Technology
Verizon will be providing a broadband replacement service using 5G. This is ideal for areas not serviced by fiber or cable such as remote regions. The latency, capacity and speed necessary for a good broadband experience will be available with 5G. According to CTIA, this will lead to a direct investment of $275 billion, three million new jobs and economic growth reaching $550 billion. The new 5G will impact automated cars, sensors, smartwatches, mobile devices, fleet asset tracking, drones and healthcare monitoring.
