Let the 5G hype begin!

So T-Mobile in the US are going to start deploying “5G” this year, and will release phones that support it next year. There have been standards set for what constitutes 5G, but it seems they are loose enough for different carriers to have different definitions.

In before Rjevski uses the word “scammers” somewhere in this thread :grin:

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And in parts of Essex we will finally be able to get 3G instead of 2G :wink:

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Sprint in the US are on the case too…

Never mind 4G, I can’t even make voice calls in my own kitchen…which has a glass roof!

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On that note, which G will we require for it to work through house building materials!?

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I reckon you’ll be waiting for 8G or 9G for that one :wink:

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5G is a good technology when it’s finished but I doubt we’ll be able to get any significant value out of with how the existing carriers manage it. 1Gbps of bandwidth is good but how good is it if all it means you’re going to blow through your data cap in seconds?

They need to stop selling “data” (which is meaningless anyway - data is not a finite resource) and start selling tower capacity; data is unlimited but speed is directly proportional to how much you’re paying. The extra efficiency of 5G should allow everyone to have “reserved” blocks of bandwidth and enjoy truly unlimited data with little to no congestion.

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You can’t trust US networks - they sold HSPA+ as 4G and class H+ as 4G coverage.
Wouldn’t surprise me if they were just upgrading to 4G+ (4G-A aggregation) initially (which we’ve had here for ages) and calling it 5G.

Edit: I just read the definition of 5G, besides the peak download and uploads, two of the conditions were:

100Mbps user experienced download rate
50Mbps user experienced upload rate

We (can) already get this on LTE-A in the UK. So I bet that’s exactly what they’ll do, have 4G+ and call it 5G!

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If they don’t solve congestion, there is not much point - with average 4G speeds being close to what 3G speeds are, but with potential for just so much more. I remember the days, few years back, when LTE-A was still that new thing that not many people had and it worked so well! I was getting well over 100Mbps over 4G+. I agree with @anon23935806 that the current sales model from the operators is a bit dated.

@BethS - that seems to be more of an issue in UK than other countries, wondering why that might be.

http://opensignal.com/reports/2017/09/uk/mobile-networks-update

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Think I’m right in saying the way the Gs are going is the opposite of helping this out… need Low frequency meaning low bandwidth if you want to go through things better…

They should repurpose the lower frequencies currently wasted on 2G and 3G to the latest generations which would use the spectrum more efficiently.

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Korans have been testing 5G in recent Winter Olympics.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-12/5g-is-here-super-speed-makes-worldwide-debut-at-winter-olympics

Oh, and they’ve been scaring off wild boars with the magic of 5G… :thinking: I love that Korans thinking of using tech for just about everything.

In the countryside near the Olympic venue, KT is applying 5G to the more humble cause of repelling wild boars. Tens of thousands of them rampage through potato and carrot fields and potentially threaten the safety of Olympics tourists. 5G’s ability to quickly relay information is what will allow the network to surpass what’s possible with 4G.

Apparently Lenovo will have the first 5G phone it’ll rock a Snapdragon 855 chip!

Bristol already has real 5G towers… http://www.bristol.ac.uk/engineering/research/smart/projects/uk-5g/

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BT has already announced the EE will start 5G trials in London soon

https://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/8125-latest-bt-group-results-as-ee-set-to-launch-5g-in-east-london

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I read ages ago that Bristol was working on a project to connect the whole city together via it’s own connected operating system. I can’t remember the details but it sounded awesome.

Should be October time :wink:

“Homes and businesses in East London will get the chance to trial the new technology using prototype 5G broadband devices. The test network is being built across ten sites, including City Road, Old Street, Hoxton Square, St Paul’s and Chiswell Street. Social media channels will be used to find the triallists.”

Shout on social media if you live at any of those places :iphone: