By Prasenjit Mitra, Penn State
– 5G stands for fifth-generation cellular network technology.
It’s the technology that enables wireless communication – for example, from your cellular phone to a cell tower, which channels it to the internet. 5G is a network service provided by telecommunications carriers and is not the same thing as the 5 GHz band on your Wi-Fi router.
5G offers an order of magnitude – 10 times – more bandwidth than its predecessor, 4G. The greater bandwidth is possible because over and above low and medium frequency radio waves, 5G uses additional higher-frequency waves to encode and carry information.
Bandwidth is analogous to the width of a highway. The broader the highway, the more lanes it can have and the more cars it can carry at the same time. This makes 5G much faster and able to handle many more devices.
5G can deliver speeds of around 50 megabits per second, up to more than 1 gigabit per second. A gigabit per second connection allows you to download a high-definition movie in less than a minute. Does this mean no more bad cell connections in crowded places? The increased bandwidth will help, but just as increasing the number of lanes on highways does not always reduce traffic jams, as more people use the expanded highways, 5G is likely to carry a lot more traffic than 4G networks, so you still might not get a good connection sometimes.
Free Reports:
Sign Up for Our Stock Market Newsletter – Get updated on News, Charts & Rankings of Public Companies when you join our Stocks Newsletter
Get our Weekly Commitment of Traders Reports - See where the biggest traders (Hedge Funds and Commercial Hedgers) are positioned in the futures markets on a weekly basis.
In addition to connecting your phone and cellular-enabled laptop, 5G will be connecting many other devices ranging from photo frames to toasters as part of the Internet of Things revolution. So even though 5G can handle up to a million devices per square kilometer, all that bandwidth could be quickly used up and require more – a future 5.5G with even more bandwidth.
Flavors of 5G
5G can use low-, mid- and high-band frequencies, each with advantages and disadvantages. Lower-frequency waves can travel farther but are slower. Using higher frequency waves means information can travel faster but these waves can only go limited distances. Higher-frequency 5G can achieve gigabit-per-second speeds, which promises to render ethernet and other wired connections obsolete in the future. Currently, however, the higher frequency comes at a higher cost and thus is deployed only where it’s most needed: in crowded urban settings, stadiums, convention centers, airports and concert halls.
A type of 5G service, Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communications, can be used where data needs to be transmitted without loss or interruption in service – for example, controlling drones in disaster areas. One day, after the technology is more robust, it could even be used for remote surgery.
About the Author:
Prasenjit Mitra, Professor of Information Sciences and Technology, Penn State
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
- PMI data is the focus of investors’ attention today. Turkey, Iraq, Qatar, and UAE signed a transportation agreement Apr 23, 2024
- Australian dollar rises on strong economic indicators Apr 23, 2024
- Geopolitical risks in the Middle East are declining. China kept interest rates at lows Apr 22, 2024
- Brent crude dips to four-week low amid easing geopolitical tensions Apr 22, 2024
- COT Metals Charts: Speculator bets led by Copper & Silver Apr 20, 2024
- COT Bonds Charts: Speculator bets led by 10-Year Bonds & Fed Funds Apr 20, 2024
- COT Stock Market Charts: Speculator bets led by S&P500-Mini Apr 20, 2024
- COT Soft Commodities Charts: Speculator bets led by Soybean Meal & Lean Hogs Apr 20, 2024
- 3 Signs of Developing U.S. Economic Slowdown Apr 19, 2024
- Israel has retaliated against Iran. Investors run to safe assets Apr 19, 2024