If you are given the opportunity to upgrade your 4G fly box to a 5G fly box, should you? This question has a long and a short answer.
Here’s the short answer: You should absolutely do it if your family members use 5G phones and you live in an area with 5G network coverage. If you wish to learn more, read on. The long answer follows.
What Is 5G?
The term “5G” stands for fifth generation. In telecommunications, that’s fifth-generation mobile communication technology. To understand 5G better, here’s a brief rundown of the four generations that precede it:
- The first generation (1G) enabled voice calls. 1G transmitted analog-modulated signals from voice data. On a 1G network, you can’t do anything other than make and receive voice calls.
- The second generation (2G) expanded the range of cellular services from voice calling to messaging, particularly the short message service (SMS) and multimedia messaging service (MMS). 2G enriched cellular communication. More importantly, its higher data transfer rate and digital (instead of analog) modulation meant that phone calls made over 2G networks had better voice quality and reliability than 1G network calls. The application of enhanced data rates for the global system for mobile communication (GSM) evolution (also known as EDGE) tripled the gross data transfer rates of standard 2G. It enabled basic mobile internet (e.g., email access and primitive web browsing).
- The third generation (3G) triggered the race among original equipment manufacturers to develop smartphones or mobile phones that can effectively and efficiently utilize mobile internet for productivity, research, entertainment, and recreational applications. It also enabled Internet of Things (IoT) and the drive to develop IoT devices, particularly for enterprise applications. Its main differentiator is the universal mobile telecommunications service. It offered higher data transfer rates, which meant faster internet connections. More importantly, it allowed packet switching, which enabled video transmission over cellular networks.
- The fourth generation (4G) is currently the mainstream type of mobile network (until 5G overtakes it in coverage). It uses long-term evolution (LTE) and provides a much faster internet connection than the third-generation UMTS. It’s two to five times faster than advanced 3G (the variant that used high-speed packet access) and 15 times faster than standard 3G.
5G comes after 4G and – at least for now – provides the fastest data upload and download rates among all mobile communication networks. Soon, 6G or sixth-generation mobile networks will overtake 5G.
5G is less prevalent than 4G, but this is quickly changing as 5G gains greater ground and more areas get 5G coverage. Understandably, it’s taking time for telecommunication companies and mobile network operators to transition their 3G and 4G networks into 5G networks, as that requires a significant investment in infrastructure.
What Differentiates 5G?
Like the previous generations of mobile communication technology, 5G still uses radio waves and cell sites to transmit data. However, the following characteristics make it faster and more efficient.
Transmitter Installation on Existing Buildings
5G uses smaller transmitters. Their small size means they don’t need to be installed on stand-alone cellular towers. Consequently, mobile network operators can quickly and significantly boost their 5G connectivity capacity. They don’t need to build more towers when they can install transmitters on existing buildings and infrastructure.
Network Slicing
A single 5G network can be sliced into multiple virtual networks, and every virtual slice may be configured differently from other slices. As such, a network operator can have slices configured specifically for use cases that require real-time feedback, such as automotive applications, video gaming, and virtual reality.
Other slices may be for typical business use: video calling, cloud computing, etc. Yet others can be designed specifically for high-throughput applications like video streaming.
The ability to create and design multiple virtual networks on a single 5G infrastructure means network operators can relegate network users to the virtual network that best fits these clients’ and customers’ requirements. This enhances network efficiency and customer experience.
Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM)
OFDM is a modulation technology that allows 5G networks to encode high-band airwaves. The high-band or millimeter-wave spectrum (24 gigahertz and higher) facilitates 5G networks’ super-fast data transfer rates and exceptionally low latency.
What Are the Benefits of 5G?
Due to the way 5G encodes and transmits data, it can offer higher speeds, lower latency and a greater capacity.
High-Speed Mobile Internet
4G networks provide high-speed internet, but 5G internet speeds top that by a large margin. 5G download speeds, ranging between 10 and 20 gigabits per second, can be up to 100 times faster than 4G. While 5G upload speeds are lower, they can still be 30% faster than 4G upload speeds.
Low Latency
If you’ve ever tried video-calling on a 3G network, you’ll know to give the other party or parties time to respond whenever you say something. You’re unlikely to keep a running monologue. Instead, you’ll pause periodically to give the network time to transmit what you just said to the other person and that person’s answer to reach you.
Latency is the time it takes from data transfer initiation to completion, and 3G networks are notorious for their relatively high latency, which causes lags in video calls.
4G has much lower latency than 3G networks. 4G/LTE latency ranges from 15 to 50 milliseconds. That’s an almost unnoticeable lag between data transmission and receipt. This is why you can play mobile video games on 4G networks.
However, 5G has even lower latency than 4G. It can take only one millisecond for data transmitted to reach its destination. As such, 5G is the best for video calling, virtual reality, augmented reality, autonomous vehicles, and other mobile data applications that require real-time, no-lag feedback and response.
High Traffic Capacity
Finally, 5G networks have a greater capacity and can accommodate more connections than previous generations. Therefore, if you’re on a 5G connection in a crowded area – e.g., a fully packed 50-thousand-capacity stadium – you won’t notice a degradation in internet connectivity speeds and connection quality.
Make a Switch to 5G
There’s no doubt that 5G is superior to 4G. Therefore, if you have a mobile device capable of connecting to 5G networks and 5G coverage in most of the areas you frequent, you should switch from 4G to 5G to enjoy its many benefits.