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Some aspects of 5G are sensible in that they take advantage of improving hardware to use spectrum more efficiently: denser encoding, full-duplex radios, etc. S
by Zigurd 4y ago
Some aspects of 5G are sensible in that they take advantage of improving hardware to use spectrum more efficiently: denser encoding, full-duplex radios, etc.
Some of it, like beam steering that tracks moving devices, which is going to be challenging to make it work in real world cases, and using spectrum that makes it hard to penetrate inside cars and buildings, is a reach nobody asked for.
Some seems greed driven, like "If we can convince AWS customers they need to put computing at the network edge we (telcos) will capture some of the value AWS accumulates now."
As for your 4G network, that's what we call 5Ge now.
- sidewndr46 4y agoI knew a guy who worked on cell phone beam forming from the tower 20 years ago. He said it worked flawlessly in Florida where the company was based. He also said every single deployment failed because no where in the US has such a flat terrain without reflections. Is 5Ge some sort of joke? Or is that a real designation.
- colejohnson66 4y ago> Is 5Ge some sort of joke? Or is that a real designation. It’s real. My iPhone 13 says it right now. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/05/att-still-refuses-to-kill-misleading-5ge-network-icon-for-4g-service/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/05/att-still-refuse...
- kjs3 4y agoAt least in the US, AT&T made the incredibly cynical move to rebrand their 4G service in areas where 5G was expected one day to be available as '5Ge' aka '5G Evolution'. That was so they could 'imply' in ads you were getting a 5G connection before, you know, there was a 5G network to connect to. Even changed the little icon on your phone from 4G to 5Ge. Sprint sued for the blatant false advertising and AT&T unsurprisingly settled.
- sidewndr46 4y agoOK, thanks for clarifying that. I don't have AT&T so I hadn't heard of the term.