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In nearly all mentions of 5G networks, the technology is presented in hushed tones as the Savior of Our World; vast promises are made about how it will completely revolutionize everything and bring wonders heretofore yet unseen on Earth... insert here generic list of tech wonders.
OTOH... all 5G brings, according to all the technical reading I can find, is:
Vastly higher speeds, into the 100s of mpbs.
A goal of vastly reduced latency (single-digit ms ping).
Far less integral security than the FCC and others want, because of immense pushback on the part of the providers.
I can see how this can be the platform for a number of improvements, with the flagship one most often mentioned being realtime communcation between intelligent/autonomous vehicles. Second is a lot of handwaving about how it will enable the Internet of Things so much better than current WiFi and 4G.
So tell me: how is 5G going to bring paradise on Earth, as all the marketing lead-ins and tech media would have it?
Marketing is natural for new versions of old things, it's important to convince in the advantage of new technology. Do you remember the advent of 3G, 4G? They didn't bring a revolution, but become an integral part of modern life. 5G story looks pretty the same as in case of predecessors for me.
As far as the internet goes there is two parties to a http request and the server end is typically slower than the requesting end. Even if you were able to find a site providing blu ray quality video which would be substantially better than a service like Netflix is labeling "HD" stream you will only need 25Mbps. That's before you get into the point of why bother watching such high resolution video on such a small display.
What this technology brings to the table is being able to serve more data to more devices, the consumer may not see much advantages with a basic comparison. They will as the traffic over the network increases.
Last edited by thecoalman; 01-28-2019 at 01:43 PM..
I am hopeful that 5G will provide strong competition to cable delivery of media, potentially breaking some cable TV monopolies. My concern though is with the unknown health issues of having a 5G cell tower on every block. City dwellers are going to receive an involuntary dosage of this millimeter radiation on a potentially constant basis.
In nearly all mentions of 5G networks, the technology is presented in hushed tones as the Savior of Our World; vast promises are made about how it will completely revolutionize everything and bring wonders heretofore yet unseen on Earth... insert here generic list of tech wonders.
OTOH... all 5G brings, according to all the technical reading I can find, is:
Vastly higher speeds, into the 100s of mpbs.
A goal of vastly reduced latency (single-digit ms ping).
Far less integral security than the FCC and others want, because of immense pushback on the part of the providers.
I can see how this can be the platform for a number of improvements, with the flagship one most often mentioned being realtime communcation between intelligent/autonomous vehicles. Second is a lot of handwaving about how it will enable the Internet of Things so much better than current WiFi and 4G.
So tell me: how is 5G going to bring paradise on Earth, as all the marketing lead-ins and tech media would have it?
Remember the incredible hype around the introduction of the Segway? It will change the way we build cities!!! Yeah, right......It’s just marketing people doing their thing.
Remember the incredible hype around the introduction of the Segway? It will change the way we build cities!!! Yeah, right......It’s just marketing people doing their thing.
Well, I do think faster/better wireless networks will have more impact than Dean Kamen's latest attempt to be Nick Tesla, but I am still amused/bemused when articles breathlessly announce The Transformation Of Our World - without ever getting into specifics that might support such a contention. It's like a religious movement.
The utility of 5G depends entirely on pricing. If the newly-massive quantity of wireless bandwidth they have to sell inspires providers to greatly lower the price of that bandwidth, that will open up new possibilities for its use. OTOH, if the pricing doesn't change drastically from current pricing, why should we expect the usage to change drastically?
The utility of 5G depends entirely on pricing. If the newly-massive quantity of wireless bandwidth they have to sell inspires providers to greatly lower the price of that bandwidth, that will open up new possibilities for its use. OTOH, if the pricing doesn't change drastically from current pricing, why should we expect the usage to change drastically?
It will be like every other generation: high-priced and metered for the first users, slowly becoming cheaper and less restricted as time goes by.
But I don't consider being able to stream 4K movies on your iPhone 13 to be revolutionary.
It will be like every other generation: high-priced and metered for the first users, slowly becoming cheaper and less restricted as time goes by.
But I don't consider being able to stream 4K movies on your iPhone 13 to be revolutionary.
I think the 5G revolution is less about the ability to massively consume bandwidth for uses like that and more about consumers getting to use wireless Internet in discrete ways that it's too expensive for them to use it that way now.
Residential Internet service
Vehicle Internet service
Portable devices
Pet trackers
Vehicle trackers
Wearable devices, like watches and health monitors
All of these are possible now. But cheaper bandwidth makes them affordable for consumers.
In some of the pilot markets, 5G is already cheaper than 4G for residential Internet.
Last edited by Bo; 02-01-2019 at 12:14 PM..
Reason: Left out a word.
I think the 5G revolution is less about the ability to massively consume bandwidth for uses like that and more about consumers getting to use wireless Internet in discrete ways that it's too expensive for them to use that way now.
Right. But in the end, it's still just broadband service. That it gives an option to wired services and localized WiFi is good, but again not revolutionary. Functionally, it's exactly the same as 4G service that nearly anyone can get now, almost anywhere.
So it's faster and broader, which opens up alternatives for wireless (but not still-faster, still-wider wired) service, and it can bring down peer-to-peer latency. All of that is to the good (but I'm sure providers will still find ways to maximize revenue from it).
Go read any pop article on 5G, though. The gushing makes it sound like the second coming accompanied by manna and free Netflix.
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