5G: Everything You Need To Know About The 5G Network

Does the popular 5G Network rings bell?

One undeniable achievement of recent US – China trade row is free publicity for Chinese telecommunication giant, Huawei, and the race to 5G network that the company leads. Across television shows, newspaper columns, and radio podcasts, people all over the world discussed the countries and companies that have achieved the most feats in bringing this technology to life, and the resultant effect on local politics and global balance of power.

Since then, most people on the street have been asking about what 5G is only about, while those already in the know keep wondering when this amazing technology will get to their city or country. Unfortunately, there has been more of more questions than answers, and it is this awkward situation that this write-up hopes to correct.

5G stands for fifth generation mobile network. It is the next mobile broadband connection that will augment your current 4G LTE connection. For an average Joe on the street, 5G basically means one thing: faster download and upload speed. Think, uninterrupted live video streaming. Faster WiFi connection. These are all services that the 5G network is coming to enhance.

However, the 5G mobile network is not only about speed. The new mobile network will provide much network capacity by expanding into new spectrum. It will also deliver far lower latency for a quicker immediate response, thus enhancing an overall mobile broadband user experience. 5G will not just enhance mobile broadband services, but will expand network capacities to support a vast number of devices and services and connect industries with new, improved, efficient, and cost-effective performance.

Distinguishing between the 5G mobile network and previous mobile network generations

Mobile network generations before the new 5G network include:

• 1G
• 2G
• 3G
• 4G LTE

Certain features and capabilities distinguish the four previous mobile networks and the new 5G network from each other. These include latency, spectrum, and speed.

While the 5G network runs on three different spectrum bands, including low-band spectrum, mid-band spectrum, and high-band spectrum, the 4G LTE network operates majorly on the low-band spectrum. It is the high-band spectrum that delivers high performance at low latency for the 5G network. The only challenge facing the deployment of the high-band spectrum is that it has low coverage area and building penetration is poor.

While the 1G network delivered analog voice, the 2G network introduced digital voices. The 3G mobile network brought mobile data, while the 4G LTE ushered in the era of mobile internet.The 5G mobile network is a unified, more sophisticated platform that has come to enhance mobile broadband’ experience, and expand them to support a vast number of devices and services. The impact of the 5G mobile network will be much greater than preceding network generations.

There is a popular misconception that the 5G network will replace 4G network. This is not true at all. 5G network is not replacing the 4G network, rather it’s building on already existing 4G LTE technologies for a more enhanced and capable mobile broadband.

What can the 5G network do for you?

1. 5G network will usher in an enhanced mobile broadband by pushing huge amount of spectrum into unused bands, thus making smartphones much more capable of many things, with lower latency, more uniform data rates, and cost-per-bit.
2. The 5G mobile network will transform entire industries with its highly reliable, lower latency capabilities. This can be deployed in the control of critical public infrastructure.
3. Lower latency and a higher network capacity means that the 5G network can seamlessly connect a whole of embedded sensors powering Internet of Things, self-driving cars, and drones.
4. The 5G mobile network is designed to support future technologies. This means scientist will find it easy to pursue future innovations by leveraging 5G technologies.

Conclusion

Should you rush and get a 5G phone?

Despite all the buzz about the 5G network, the changes that accompany it won’t happen overnight. It may be a few more years — or even a decade, before 5G starts running smoothly across the world. So, it is not unwise to hold on to purchasing a new 5G phone.
Besides, while you will need a 5G phone to access a 5G network, it doesn’t mean you need a 5G phone to reap the speed benefits of the 5G network. In fact, as the 5G rolls out, you may experience faster speeds on 4G as well. This means that even if 5G is already available in your area, your phone isn’t obsolete just yet. It will still work perfectly on 4G.