5G is coming. Well, technically it has started rolling out in developed countries, kind of, may be, slowly! This 5th Generation cellular network is theoretically 10 times faster that 4G -LTE. That means instead of waiting 5 minutes to download a movie on Netflix on 4G, it will take just 30 seconds on 5G. In come countries, this could replace the high speed internet service providers they use at their homes.
The new standard means devices can communicate with each other with no lag. You know how when you write with a pen you see it as it happens, that’s zero latency. That’s pretty much what 5G can do–no waiting. That Opens up the possibility for things like wireless virtual reality (VR) experiences and more reliable driver-less cars. Thanks to the ability to analyze and process data at faster speeds.
Its an exciting time for faster and more connected devices. But as we have seen before, there are some obstacles 5G needs to overcome before we can really reap all of its amazing benefits. Here are 7 of them.
2Signal issues
Why new equipment has to be installed for 5G is because it totally uses a totally different wavelength than the 4G standard your phone currently uses as illustrated above using spaghetti as radio wave.
The current implementation of 5G uses what they call millimeter waves which are a lot shorter than the wavelength 4G uses. The shorter wavelength means this new technology can carry a lot of data much faster than 4G, but it also means a much shorter range. Depending on the frequency used, 4G wavelengths have a range of about 16 kms and in comparison, 5G wavelengths have a range of about 300 meters. This means a 4G signal can travel over 50 times further than it’s 5th generation counterpart, this not even 2% of 4G’s range.
So to ensure a reliable 5G signal, there needs to be a lot of 5G cell towers and antennas every where. We are talking on every existing cellular tower site, lamp posts, Police’s Security camera poles, UMEME electricity poles, KCCA’s traffic lights, etc. Because even things like trees or a glass window barrier can the block 5G signal and degrade the speeds.
