5G in Uganda: Is it worth the wait ?

While we still struggle to get a 3G signal in some part of the country, the “G” revolution continues round the world. Worldwide, its the genesis of the 5G revolution, at a snail slow speed, but once the successor to 4G LTE is established, it will be worth the wait. Several companies like Alcatel, Huawei ad ZTE are some of the companies developing 5G and working on the breakthrough. So what will be the advantages of 5G when it will finally arrive many be after 2021.

Connectivity has always been about being speed, but that is not the approach of 5G. The new mobile communications standard has many sub-areas that can be used in different ways and so 5G, therefore, is more flexible than previous technologies. For the end consumer like us, in addition to increasing speed, lower response times, and then end of so-called latency are particularly important in order to be able to do completely different things with your smartphone on the 5G network than you could before.

Experts say that 5G is comparable to the invention of the mobile phone, only in more areas. In the past, it was only possible to make calls at home then, with a mobile phone, you could do it everywhere. With 5G, this will also apply to many other areas like enjoying VR or AR content using WLAN at home or on the road in your car. You’ll be able to watch high-resolution live streams or play games that look like on a PC and console no matter where you are.

5G to make the cloud even better

In the future, much of the content that will end up on smartphones and other devices will come from the cloud. It can be games, graphics programs, virtual reality content and much more. The low ping times and the speed of 5G will mean that you don’t notice any difference between this and locally stored content. And if 5G is consuming too much power, you can simply use the proven 4G, if it is fast enough. The key to a real revolution lies in the mix.

There is now an extra burden on smartphone designers who also also have a lot to do, because 5G requires many more antennas than 4G. Our phone’s hardware are already crammed with many wireless technologies like 2G, 3G, 4G, WiFi, Bluetooth and some have Infrared to mention but a few. The requirement is clear: the devices must not become noticeably thicker, heavier or more cumbersome than before. So the engineers at the manufacturers have some problems to solve.

Has UCC even thought about the 5G frequencies?

It took several years for UCC to clean up the spectrum currently used for 4G, especially the 800 MHz band. Telecom companies will have to use the 700MHz band are expected to start later in 2020 after UK. In parts of Europe, such as Germany, auctions start at the beginning of 2019. Telecom companies in Uganda will not like to experiment unless the technology is well deployed in developed countries, plus a clear business case and demand for higher speed will have to be identified in order for the investors to “pour in more dimes”.

In countries like the USA, the expansion of the network has already begun in some major cities. The 5G antennas are rectangular, flat boxes attached to the existing radio masts. However, this will not be sufficient for the entire expansion of the network. If 5G is actually to be expanded as area-wide as 3G and LTE – and there are good reasons for this – then new locations for antennas will also have to be found. This is due to the range, which can be significantly lower than that of 3G and 4G LTE.

Some are now thinking 6G

It will still take many years until the successor to 5G is in place, however, the EU Commission is already collecting ideas and concepts from experts on what the next but one step in mobile communications could look like. Decisive for 6G are the needs and application scenarios that industry and providers must define and create together with customers.

Until then, however, the road ahead is still long, and the launch of 5G is still some time away. We don’t expect 5G to come to consumers not before 2022. But in a few years, the 5G revolution will be here, and we will quickly find ourselves beyond the point of no return.