5G: What is it and why should we care?
5G is finally available. After a wait of almost 10 years following the introduction of 4G, 5G was commercially introduced to the market in April 2019, in South Korea. Since then, many other developed nations have adopted the technology. Despite the two years past, many people are still unclear about the benefits of this potentially groundbreaking technology.
5G stands for “the 5th Generation”. It is the fifth generation technology standard for broadband cellular networks. It promises not only faster download speeds but also better connectivity and lower latency. Although these promises might make 5G appear as if an incremental improvement from the widely used 4G network, in fact, 5G opens up a great range of possibilities both in personal and business use. Before discussing the details of these possibilities, I would like to talk a bit about the technology behind 5G and how it differs from 4G.
Mobile networks are called cellular networks because they simply divide the coverage space into cells. A base station serves each cell. The base station acts as the bridge between the network and the mobile devices. The mobile devices and the base station communicate with each other through radio waves. 5G uses three types of radio waves, each with a different frequency window: the low band (600–700 MHz), the mid band (2.5–3.5 GHz), and the high band (24–39 GHz). On top of these three bands, the 5G network can also utilize the existing 4G frequencies dynamically when needed. In other words, it is possible to switch between 4G and 5G seamlessly.
There is an important trade-off between different bands. The band with the lowest frequency, i.e. the low band, has the greatest coverage area but the slowest speed. It can serve hundreds of square miles with a speed of 30–250 Mbps. On the other hand, the high band can only serve a city block but with a speed of 1–3 Gbps. Network optimization is a major strategical question for telecom providers. The telecom providers are still trying to optimize their 5G base stations’ locations nationwide to balance the performance with coverage.
At this point, it might be beneficial to take a pause from our discussion of 5G and talk about the evolution of mobile networks. 1G was introduced in 1979 in Tokyo Japan. It took almost 4 years for 1G to be introduced in the US. The speed of 1G only allowed for the voice transfer between the mobile devices and the base stations. It had major problems: there was no encryption, thus no security at all, the sound quality was low, and there was no roaming. 2G, introduced in 1991, made significant improvements. The encryption became possible, the increase in data transfer speed allowed for SMS and MMS, and sound quality improved. The average data transfer speed in 2G was around 0.2 Mbps. 3G was first deployed in 2001 in Japan. The data transfer speed and capabilities further improved (by almost ten times to 2 Mbps), allowing for reasonable quality in web browsing, video streaming, and video chat. 4G was first introduced in late 2009 in Norway. It is the standard currently in place. With more than 12 Mbps it allowed for high-quality video streaming/chat, online gaming, etc.
The improvements in connection speed, latency, and connectivity from 1G to 4G made significant changes in our daily lives. 1G allowed for mobile phone calls, 2G allowed for mobile written communication, 3G allowed for mobile surfing and video conferencing, and 4G allowed for the development of the mobile ecosystem we today use. Therefore it is not surprising to expect 5G to have a similar effect in our daily lives.
According to the experts, the impact of 5G will be larger than any other “G”s. 5G brings undoubtedly faster connection speeds. However, its greatest benefits might be in greater connectivity and low latency. The greater connectivity and low latency can open up a set of new possibilities in the world of IoT (i.e. Internet of Things). More diverse devices can connect to each other and to the internet with almost no latency. Device diversity can allow us to create and expand new digital ecosystems in a variety of fields such as industrial production, agriculture, and urban infrastructure. Low latency, on the other hand, can make the reliability and management of mission-critical devices easier, eliminating the safety concerns around devices such as autonomous vehicles. As a result, in near future, we can see factories with enhanced productivity levels, cities with smart buildings and autonomous vehicles, and new modern farms.
Although 5G is currently available, we as a society, are far from enjoying its full benefits. Over the next decade, 5G will make significant changes in our personal and professional lives whether we like it or not. Therefore we should care for 5G.
Sources:
https://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/definition/5G
http://www.emfexplained.info/?ID=25916
https://venturebeat.com/2019/12/10/the-definitive-guide-to-5g-low-mid-and-high-band-speeds/
https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/markets/digital-identity-and-security/mobile/inspired/5G
https://www.cengn.ca/timeline-from-1g-to-5g-a-brief-history-on-cell-phones/
