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5G is an umbrella for different types and technologies, and I believe that’s the confusion part of what the artice mentioned and the reader views. 5G has three
by AHOHA 3y ago
5G is an umbrella for different types and technologies, and I believe that’s the confusion part of what the artice mentioned and the reader views. 5G has three main categories (technically two but separating the 2nd one to further explain it), 5G NSA (non stand alone), where the 5G RAN uses an existing 4G LTE core, 5G SA (stand alone), as the name implies, is stand alone from previous generations and has its own architecture and core, new radio, etc., and the third one -which is still a SA by the way- is the mmwave, what the article is referring.
This article has a thorough explanation (1)
In most nowadays 5G implementation is the first one, where you get a slight enhanced LTE, as it’s easier to implement, SA, which provide extra features is still not widely used -although it’s changing, and then you have the least adopted one is the mmwave due to its new bands (unlike the sub-6GHz) that require new radio/towers/etc. on a higher frequencies (also higher noise), and also new UE (or user equipment/device), which so far only very limited devices support that. In Canada, we did some cell surveys utilizing robots/drones to map the areas at different altitudes to find the deadzones and coverage, and you can say in most of the results, NSA can have the coverage as the LTE, mmwave in some cases we had not just to maintain a clear line of sight to get any signal, but also we have to be relatively close. So mmwave adoption might still in its early stages, it’s also why so operators went with C-band instead.
(1) https://dgtlinfra.com/5g-standalone-sa/#:~:text=What%20is%20the%20Difference%20Between,new%205G%20packet%20core%20network https://dgtlinfra.com/5g-standalone-sa/#:~:text=What%20is%20....
- SSLy 3y ago5G mmWave is best used in dense - ie. not so often in North America - urban areas. I's going to work great in busy metro stations, shopping streets/malls, concerts. Not in suburbia.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- afavour 3y agoI’m in NYC and use mmWave for my home internet and it’s genuinely game changing: ~1Gbps internet with no wires at all. Given the monopolies internet providers have in NYC it’s liberating. But my nearest antenna is a block away with pretty good sight lines. If I move my radio even 6ft in the wrong direction my speeds go through the floor. I think the 5G hype was excessive for a technology that only works in very specific circumstances and it’s led to some disappointment.
- m348e912 3y agoIf mmWave is also known as 5gUW, I have been very underwhelmed and I would prefer that I could turn it off in favor of traditional 5g. The push for 5g in general has been a bit of a head scratcher for me. I don't think consumers have been clamoring for multi gigabit wireless en mass. If they're like me, they would prefer consistency and reliability. Speed is less important when you can use WIFI at home and in many places, which is going to be faster and more reliable. I always suspected something else was pushing the massive investment and marketing of 5g. Maybe cost massive savings on new spectrum leases? I don't know for sure, but when the I saw a commercial that said 5g would help doctors at a hospital diagnose illness faster (using networked equipment) I was like why the hell would hospitals even want to use 5g? Ethernet, Fiber, maybe wifi. But 5g?? Craziness. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpzF2JOgiwE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpzF2JOgiwE Everything this guy talks about can be accomplished by traditional wifi and ethernet.
- sidewndr46 3y agoIt depends on where you're at, but "WIFI at home" may indeed be much slower than 5G at some locations served by traditional DSL and cable modem technologies.
- regularfry 3y agoWith 5g you can potentially sidestep hospital IT departments with a network connection that's outside their control. Also, it may be bold to assume that WiFi as offered is a practical option.
- afavour 3y ago> they would prefer consistency and reliability. > Speed is less important when you can use WIFI at home and in many places In my experience 5G provides that consistency: Wifi (outside of my reliable home connection) is often super flaky. With 5G on my phone I find myself connecting to (e.g.) coffee shop Wifi much less often and I tether my laptop to my phone rather than use it.
- sidewndr46 3y agoAt my house I can get 250 mbps down/35 mbps up with some clever placement of the 5G unit. This blows any other ISP out of the water. One street over I get 1000 mbps down/250 mbps up which I am a bit salty about. There is a terrain feature that makes it impossible for me to see that same tower from my house.
- sidewndr46 3y agoI keep 5G off on my phone because it in general doesn't work when I'm out and about. Conversely the 4G network seems to always have usable signal levels and may be less busy now that everyone's phone is using 5G by default.
- qtwhat 3y agoIn China it is about SA only now, maybe since 2022 if I remember it correctly, all cell phone that support SA can only be allowed to enter the market. and all base station shall support SA too.