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am I reading this right? High-bandwidth wireless data, even using the latest 5G technology, still literally requires ample bandwidth: wide enough radio frequen
by silverlyra 6y ago
am I reading this right?
High-bandwidth wireless data, even using the latest 5G technology, still literally requires ample bandwidth: wide enough radio frequency channel(s) over which to communicate. So far, two major US cellular providers (AT&T and T-Mobile) have allocated so little spectrum space to 5G, that 4G connections are still faster in almost every city tested. For example, on AT&T’s 4G network, phones can use up to seven radio bands simultaneously to increase speeds, but phones on 5G are still limited to a single 5MHz band.
Sounds like this is what empirical testing of AT&T and T-Mobile networks would have expected to find. Verizon’s 5G network isn’t showing this issue because they’re using only millimeter-wave spectrum and equipment, with the trade-off being scant availability because of its tiny usable cell area.
- bluGill 6y agoI just drive through Iowa and had 5g almost all the way. A year ago I drove the same route and it was 2g the whole way. So t-mobile has clearly sped things up in rural areas for me. At home I still get 4g, but that is good enough