5G is coming: Everything you need to know about 5G

The world is talking about the new 5G technology, where smartphone companies and chipmakers are riding the 5G wave which enhances the speed of the wireless network from the present speed of 45 MBPS to about 1GBPS. Steps are expected to be taken to make sure that there is development and adoption of 5-G enabled infrastructure and technology.

What 5G actually is?

5G stands for fifth-generation cellular technology which increases the downloading and uploadingspeeds over the mobile network and also reduces the time taken by the network to respond, by increasing efficiency and providing more stable network connections.

After its deployment, 5G is expected to offer a download speed of 1 GBPS, which is approximately 100 times more than the current data speed. Using this network, you will not only be able to download the HD version of movies within seconds, but also ensure less buffer time while watching movies online.It will also make sure that there is no network congestion as 5G will cover a wider area in the frequency spectrum in the range of frequencies where technologies like LTE, Bluetooth, 4G, 3G, and more work. It also gives more importance to connecting one device to another in a hassle-free manner.

The difference between 5G and 4G

The 4G and 5G networks come with multiple differences. To begin with, 5G is a platform which is more capable than 4G. As 4G LTE is concentrated on delivering much faster mobile broadband services than 3G, the 5G mode is designed to be more unified to support services like mission-critical communications and the massive IoT(Internet of Things). The 5G network will also support various spectrum types like licensed, shared and the unlicensed types, the bands that are low, medium or high and new ways of inter-connection like device-to-device and multi-hop mesh.

5G also uses spectrum which is much better than 4G. It will get the most out of every band from low bands below 1 GHz to mid bands from 1Ghz to 6Ghz, to millimetre-wave, which are the high bands. This makes 5G much faster than 4G while providing upto 20 Gigabits-per-second peak data rates and 100+ Megabits-per-second average data rates.  Moreover, 5G has more capacity and also has lower latency than 4G.

Deployment of 5G

The countries at the top which offer 5G services include South Korea, the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States. These countries have risen as the leaders in 5G technology and there are multiple companies here that are selling compatible devices to the people in the market.

As far as the US is concerned, three mobile carriers have taken up the job of upgrading the existing 4G infrastructure to 5G. While telecom companies like Sprint and T-Mobile have approached the Federal Trade Commission (which auctions the frequency) to allow them to be merged together so as to their resources to offer better services. On the other hand, telecomservice provider Verizon has gone solo and AT&T will also deploy a true 5G network. As the switch from 4G to 5G is very infrastructure intensive, mobile service providers have to upgrade their underlying hardware all across the country to provide 5G speeds. This cannot be achieved by the swish and flick of a wand, so they would use the 4G LTE infrastructure to move to 5G. In simple terms, it would approximately take the telecoms a couple of years to achieve the true speed 5G promises.

Just like 4G, the deployment of 5G will take the course of the auction of the millimetre-wave spectrum, that is the frequency range between 28 to 100Ghz. In this area, India comes unprepared, so we may not get 5G anytime soon.We have always been a bit late to adopt advanced technologies. We still struggle to reach the speed 4G network provides. It is said that 4G speeds in India are some of the worst in the world. It is unlikely to witness any major developments for 5G anytime soon.

Howcan entrepreneurs benefit from 5G?

If entrepreneurs and investors are looking to make money from 5G, then there are many ways through which this can be achieved.The first foremost benefit is that this network will enhance interpersonal communication. Communication plays a key role in driving any form of business.As customers and business operators will have access to devices that will send and receive at the speed of the blink of an eye, they can make better phone calls, have high-quality video meetings and have access to chat apps while experiencing zero latency.

The introduction to 5G networks will also open more doors to expand remote work opportunities.With the speed that this network offers, it will be possible for even more tasks to be accomplished remotely. For instance, at the Mobile World Congress, a Spanish surgeon performed an operation from miles away with the assistance of a robotics kit.  This is just one example of the power of connectivity. High loading speeds and high-frequency data transfers will make engineering and other types of highly skilled work possible from anywhere with a decent and convenient network.

A lot of venture capital money is flowing into the 5G companies in Silicon Valley and these investments are expected to grow steadily. The recent partnership established between Japanese telecom company KDDI and VC firm Global brain corp. is aimed to fund infrastructure development. The golden age for businesses that are based on 5G or startups that are blooming is quickly nearing. As there is tremendous growth in infrastructure and the essential hardware components are becoming available, there are high chances of transforming the world as we know it by using 5G.

List of available 5G mobile phones in the market

5G phones are out in the market. As telecom companies have started preparing to offer 5G network, chipsets and cell phone organizations are right now preparing for the new range of handsets which will provide the ultra-quick network.  Qualcomm dispatched 5G prepared Snapdragon 855 processor which is largely controlling the scope of lead cellphones in 2019. In the US, service providers like At&T and Verizon have prepared modems for the brand new broadband system. With the advent of these technologies, several smartphone companies have planned to launch their 5G phones.

Phones like Huawei Mate X, Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, LG V50 THINQ, XiaomiMi Mix 3,OnePlus7, ZTE Axon 10 Pro, Sony 5G Prototype, Motorola Z3, Oppo R15, Samsung Galaxy Fold and Oppo Reno 5G are some of the phones that are 5G enabled.

Drawbacks of 5G technology

There are two sides to each coin, so it is safe to assume that even the 5G technology might come with its own set of drawbacks. Firstly, enabling 5G technology will require proficient engineers to put in and maintain the 5G network.Also, the maintenance of the equipment is rather costly, so it will increase the monetary value put into the system. 5G smartphones that are launched also cost much more than other smartphones, so it might stop many users from upgrading to this new technology.  There are chances of higher losses at higher frequencies, as 5G millimeter-waves suffer from losses such as penetration loss, attenuation because of rain, foliage loss and much more.

Conclusion

With the advent of 5G network, the need for quick internet connection, instantaneous response time and the performance of IoT will soon become a reality. The connectivity the 5G networks provide comes with a range of benefits and will also facilitate a lot of users and business owners around the world. It comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages, but the advent of this new technology is definitely making waves across the globe as more people are waiting to avail this service.