5G A New Era: Some Thoughts Pro & Con
1000x times the speed of 4G
Gartner predicts that 20.8 billion devices will be connected to the Internet by 2020
I had a conversation a few weeks with someone who scoffed at the impact on our society of 5G, the next generation of mobile technology. Frankly, I was not surprised as the subject requires some careful thought. Mobile phones, wifi, bluetooth, broadband combine to enhance our human experience with voice, audio, video and data transmission. They have all combined to enhance, inform, make life simpler and better as well as help divide us and even cause children social and physical disabilities. But what is 5G and how is this going to impact our lives. To be fair, when something sounds too good to be true you should pause and review carefully.
I have been following mobile and cell tech for a number of years ever since I worked at British telecoms and this new technology and all the hype makes it even more confusing than in the past because of the networked interactivity it provides. We are now awash with smart devices, Wether it is Google Home, Amazon Echo, Apple Siri or other voice controlled devices or autonomous gadgets and cars, drones, smart metres we are flooded, overwhelmed and constantly stimulated with distractions, Making out lives simpler and better turns out to be somewhat very stressful?
So, after ingesting several dozens of articles and talking to my colleagues and friends with some knowledge, I try to simplify and create articles as much for my own benefit as, hopefully, yours?
5G will make it possible to develop new technologies, many of which we have no idea about today. It will take a few years but the promise of an advanced communication system is real. “Economists estimate the global economic impact of 5G in new goods and services will reach $12 trillion by 2035 as 5G moves mobile technology from connecting people to people and information, towards connecting people to everything.” Source: The World Economic Forum
Basics: The 5G technology, or fifth generation of mobile technologies, makes use of all the existing cellular wireless technologies (2G, 3G and 4G). Apart from high throughput it also provides better coverage and high data rates at the edge of cell. Flexible architecture based on SDR(Software Defined Radio).
Bored already? I am as well. The hype has been extraordinary and it takes a pair of wellies to plow through the technical jargon.
Fast and reliable speed means IoT, the internet of things, will perform more reliably, securely and provide a much better experience. We needed 5G to make drones and autonomous cars and transport safe and reliable. Self-driving cars, Virtual and augmented reality, tactile internet, smart cities, IoT appliances and smart homes, intelligent systems to monitor energy use, our finances & health as well as personal servant bots all work reliably and securely.
Is it possible? With every new technology there are teething issues and 5G will require an infrastructure investment. China is leading the way and the West will play catch up.
Some promised, and I believe suspect, positives:
? Better revenue for the service providers.
? Interoperability will become feasible and easier.
? Low battery power consumption.
? Better coverage and high data rates at the edge of cell.
? Multiple data transfer paths concurrently.
? More secure
? Flexible architecture based on SDR(Software Defined Radio).
? Higher system spectral efficiency
? Harmless to human health
? Cheaper fees due to lower costs of deployment infrastructure
? Better QoS(Quality of Service)
? Ultimate download and upload speed provides user great experience like broadband cable internet
? Most of the devices such as 5G dongle works on USB power and hence better in developing countries where electric power cuts are very common.
Source: https://www.rfwireless-world.com/Tutorials/5G-tutorial.html
Health issues aside because this is still in the embryonic stage and we do not know everything, there is a need for this system. We require a new system just to create something much more secure, and reliable, than what we presently work with especially if we are to trust transport or remote surgery to banking and shopping.
Why cant we use high speed broadband instead of 5G? Through the air transmission of broadband has issues especially where reliability and mobile speed transfer is required. 5G promised to possess much lower latency meaning it will connect better, faster and be far more reliable. The size of transmission chips, the heat their use produces and the cost to fully implement and cover vast territories are also a factor.
If this is a healthier, greener, cheaper, faster and better system why is there any controversy? Human nature tends to be more conservative especially the older one gets. Risk is anathema so as a defensive mechanism we usually hear of negative statements which usually disappear.
The folding Samsung? OK, this supposed me. Why would a mega tech multi billion dollar test a very expensive revolutionary product, hype and release it only to have it fail especially after the explosive battery issue is still fresh in peoples minds? I do not recall thinking I needed to fold my phones screen in half? Was this a real market gap or did the technology supersede the perceived benefit for the consumers? We can do it, they will love it. Build it and they will come?
I like the concept of cheaper, faster safer and better. 5G will deliver high-efficiency data transfer by breaking data down into smaller packages, allowing for faster transmission times. 4G has a fifty-millisecond delay, 5G data transfer will offer a mere one-millisecond delay. Humans will not be able to notice the difference but machines will.
Negatives? 5G will use untapped bandwidth of the extremely high-frequency millimeter wave (MMW), between 30GHz and 300GHz, in addition to some lower and mid-range frequencies.
High-frequency MMWs travel a short distance and do not travel well through buildings and tend to be absorbed by rain and plants, leading to signal interference. Because of this many smaller, closely groups mobile towers with increased input and output ports and wireless antennas will have to be installed every few feet, and they will use many lamp posts and utility poles in your neighbourhood.
We can not ignore the health impact even though there is so many confusing and contradictory research, propaganda and marketing campaigns In 2011, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified RFR as a potential 2B carcinogen and specified that the use of mobile phones could lead to specific forms of brain tumours. And children’s developing and softer tissues are more at risk than adults. Dr Yael Stein of Jerusalem’s Hebrew University, outlines the main points. Over ninety percent of microwave radiation is absorbed by the epidermis and dermis layers, so human skin basically acts as an absorbing sponge for microwave radiation. Disquieting as this may sound, it’s generally considered acceptable so long as the violating wavelengths are greater than the skin layer’s dimensions. But MMW’s violate this condition.
The radiation may also effect plant life. But there are many things now in sue we still have no idea about such as vape or eCigarettes. Are smart metres or wifi actually healthy?
Now, much of the pro’s and con’s are still to be proven and we are still a year or two from the massive rollout. Many cities are in test mode and delays can be experienced.
You can write a book on this subject and no one article or compressed version will cover how this impacts you specifically. We must all do our own research and keep aware and on top of this subject as there is one thing we can be certain of, 5G will have an impact. Wether it is significant, pervasive or inconsequential depends on many factors but it is useful to be aware and prepared.