The US introduced some form of 5G cellular network. What is 5G? and how is it compared with 4G? Some people are not making difference between 4G and 5G. AT&T and Verizon both are working on 5G and you see the 5G icon on your brand-new smartphone but it seems that it works exactly like 4G. It makes people wonder that what the big deal is with 5G.
There is a lot of experience between 5G technology and a 5G experience. Though, things will start to run. T-Mobile’s “ultra capacity” 5G is showing speeds higher than 4G and it is starting in late 2021. The coming C-band networks may achieve the same for AT&T and Verizon. 5G is an investment, after the first announcement we have seen most of the changes happening.
If we discuss 4G, the first 4G phone in the US was introduced in 2010, but the 4G application did not take much time for changed our world. Snapchat was introduced in 2012. Video calls and LTE the network became widespread in the US around 2013. There is another twist with the 5G transition. 5G appeared in three main kinds, low-band, mid-band, and high-band. T-Mobile has mid-band but AT&T and Verison are waiting for the C-band auction. We are getting fits and start of 5G right now, we expect the big 5G application in 2022.
1G, 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G:
If you are listening about 5G Wi-Fi or AT&T’s “5G E” phones, they are not 5G cellular. And if you also expect that 5G means millimeter-wave towers on every lamppost, it is also not true. The G in 5G stands for a generation of wireless technology. Most generations have been defined by their data transmission speeds. Each generation is marked by a break in encoding methods or air interfaces, and it makes generation incompatible with the previous generation.
1G is analog cellular and 2G technologies including CDMA, GSM, and TDMA were the first generation of digital cellular technologies. EVDO, HSPA, and UMTS lead speed from 200kbps to a few megabits per second in 3G technologies. In 4G technologies, WiMAX and LTE are included. They are now scaling up to hundreds of megabits and gigabit level speed.
5G can connect more devices at one time with bigger channels and lower latency. All 5G phones need 4G networks and coverage. All 5G networks used 4G to establish their initial connections and it is called something non-standalone. If we talk about standalone networks, they lose their importance without an assist from 4G. Specs of the 5G phones allow 5G to combine 5G and 4G. That is why most of the connections will be 4G/5G combined. It has started to call its 4G network “5G Evolution”, because improved 4G is a major step to 5G.
Low, Middle, And High:
In terms of airwaves, 5G gives more options than 4G. The noticeable thing is that it opens up the high band , short-range waves did not work with 4G technology. On the other hand, 5G runs on any frequency, and 5G has three different kinds of experiences are low, middle, and high. Here the point is understandable is that 5G is not much faster than 4G. 5G specs make phones use much wider channels.
You can combine up to seven 20MHz channels with 4G. You can combine two 100 MHz channels for 200 MHz usage, with new phones in low and mid-band 5G. You can use up to eight 100 MHz channels in high band 5G. You do not get the speeds if you do not have airwaves. Using dynamic spectrum sharing, carriers can share channels between 5G and 4G. DSS makes movable walls between 4G and 5G and due to this carrier can split channels between 4G and 5G on demand.
Verizon is using its nationwide 5G. It does not free up any new airwaves for 5G, it re-uses odds and ends of 4G. So DSS 5G is not peform well regarding 4G. Low band 5G works in frequencies below 2GHz. These oldest cellular and TV frequencies. Low-band 5G is slow. Low band 5G channels are from 5MHz up to 15MHz. The complications are that sometimes AT&T and T-Mobile low band phones show 5G icons while they are not using 5G.
The mid-band is the 2-10GHZ range, which covers current cellular and Wi-Fi frequencies. Mid band 5G have offered around 100 MHz. High band 5G wave is new stuff. This is mostly between the 20-1000 GHz range. Before Consumers applications these airwaves are not used. Over 3Gbps speed seen on Verizon’s high band network which is called ultra-wideband. High bands were used before for backhaul but not used for consumer devices.
How 5G works :
5G networks use a system that sends encoded data and divides their territory into sectors and divide radio waves.5G networks use OFDM, a type of encoding. And it is similar to the encoding that 4G LTE uses. 5G will be able to improve capacity by four times with bandwidths and antenna technologies.
Where Is 5G Available ?
With 5G you are enjoying different experiences in different places. In more than 60 cities Verizon has a slow, fast high band. On the other hand, T-Mobile has a slow, low-band 5G network most of the country, 106 million people covering by faster mid-band, and high-bands cover seven cities. While AT&T has a slow band in most of the country and a high band in 35 cities.
Which 5G phones Are Coming Out ?
It seems that any phone over $500 has 5G. The next target is C-band. Apple iPhone series, Galaxy S21 series, Google Pixel 5, and LG Wing have C-band. Low and mid-band 5G is low cost as compared to 5G high-band. AT&T and T-Mobile phones lack high band 5G. Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold 2, Galaxy S21 series, iPhone 12 series, Pixel 5, and the LG Wing all deal with the high band. Other countries have more phones with 5G, Huawei, Oppo, Realme, Xiaomi and other brand are included.
Is 5G safe ?
Yes of course 5G is safe. Low band and mid-band based on radio frequencies and it’s been used for decades. While low bands 5G uses UHF TV bands. In the US the complication of 5G is tend to be around high band. Because it requires a lot of small cell sites. It is blocked by leaves, walls, glass, cars, clothing and skin. It means that it is not too strong but it is too weak.
What’s 5G for ?
The question is that what is 5G for? It often seems that people use 5G for downloading Netflix very quickly on their phones. One Plus CEO said that 5G could make onboard storage irrelevant. One major the benefit of 5G over 4G is huge capacity. Some think that 5G will be important for industrial uses. Besides this Driverless cars may need 5G to kick into action. Another thing is that 5G connect more devices. The biggest change is come by 5G is in virtual and augmented reality.
