The big differences between 4G and 5G
By Clare Duffy, CNN BusinessSelf-driving cars are just one of the many potential applications of 5G, the next generation wireless network that is steadily being rolled out across the United States, and in other countries around the world.
Companies are racing to have the fastest or largest 5G networks. And countries are competing to be the first to deploy fully functional, nationwide 5G, because of the many revolutionary innovations experts anticipate will be built on top of it.
But wireless customers are going to have to wait a while to see any of the major benefits 5G could one day bring. That's because a lot goes into the network to enable new technologies, including smart cities, remote surgeries and automated factories.
The three major differences between 4G and 5G are faster speeds, higher bandwidth and lower "latency," or lag time in communications between devices and servers. But those perks are going to require building out a lot of new infrastructure and billions of dollars in annual investments.
Speed
Speed is one of the most highly anticipated elements of the next generation network.
5G is expected to be nearly 100 times faster than 4G. With speeds like that, you could download a two-hour film in fewer than 10 seconds, a task that takes about seven minutes on 4G (no more panicking while trying to download your in-flight entertainment on the tarmac before the plane takes off).
Rapid speeds have obvious consumer applications, including movie streaming and app downloads, but they'll also be important in many other settings. Manufacturing experts talk about the possibility of putting video cameras throughout a factory, and very quickly gathering and analyzing massive amounts of footage to monitor product quality in real-time.
Those speeds are possible because most 5G networks are built on super-high-frequency airwaves, also known as high-band spectrum. The higher frequencies can transmit much more data, much faster than on 4G.
But signals traveling on high-band spectrum can't travel very far and have a hard time getting through walls, windows, lampposts and other hard surfaces. That's not very convenient when we want the tiny computers we carry around everywhere to continue working as we walk out of the subway station, down the street and into the office.
In order to compensate for those challenges, wireless carriers building high-band 5G networks are installing tons of small cell sites (about the size of pizza boxes) to light poles, walls or towers, often in relatively small proximity to one another. For that reason, most carriers are deploying 5G city by city
Capacity
Latency
The X-factor: Reliability
Here's the thing: The massive speeds and capacity and low latency of 5G relies on high-band spectrum. But high-band spectrum, with its small coverage areas, isn't very reliable.
Even in cities where carriers say they have deployed 5G, it can be hard to stay connected to the network.
It's probable that for quite a while, even after 5G-enabled devices become more widely adopted, people will use a mix of 4G and 5G. When you're close to a 5G tower, your device will connect and access the superfast speeds. When you're not, your device will revert back to running on 4G.
Other strategies for building out 5G provide greater reliability.
T-Mobile (TMUS) said last month it achieved a nationwide 5G network because, rather than using high-band spectrum, T-Mobile used mostly lower frequency airwaves to build its network. Those signals cover much wider areas and are better at traveling through walls and trees, but "low-band spectrum" doesn't provide the dramatic benefits we think of when we think of 5G.
For now, T-Mobile's 5G network provides, on average, a 20% increase in download speeds compared to 4G LTE, according to a company spokesperson. That's a stark difference from the 100 times-faster-than-4G speeds on high frequency 5G networks.
Eventually, both lower and higher frequency 5G will cover much of the country and we'll get the best of both worlds.
By Clare Duffy, CNN BusinessSelf-driving cars are just one of the many potential applications of 5G, the next generation wireless network that is steadily being rolled out across the United States, and in other countries around the world.
Companies are racing to have the fastest or largest 5G networks. And countries are competing to be the first to deploy fully functional, nationwide 5G, because of the many revolutionary innovations experts anticipate will be built on top of it.
But wireless customers are going to have to wait a while to see any of the major benefits 5G could one day bring. That's because a lot goes into the network to enable new technologies, including smart cities, remote surgeries and automated factories.
The three major differences between 4G and 5G are faster speeds, higher bandwidth and lower "latency," or lag time in communications between devices and servers. But those perks are going to require building out a lot of new infrastructure and billions of dollars in annual investments.
Speed
Speed is one of the most highly anticipated elements of the next generation network.
5G is expected to be nearly 100 times faster than 4G. With speeds like that, you could download a two-hour film in fewer than 10 seconds, a task that takes about seven minutes on 4G (no more panicking while trying to download your in-flight entertainment on the tarmac before the plane takes off).
Rapid speeds have obvious consumer applications, including movie streaming and app downloads, but they'll also be important in many other settings. Manufacturing experts talk about the possibility of putting video cameras throughout a factory, and very quickly gathering and analyzing massive amounts of footage to monitor product quality in real-time.
Those speeds are possible because most 5G networks are built on super-high-frequency airwaves, also known as high-band spectrum. The higher frequencies can transmit much more data, much faster than on 4G.
But signals traveling on high-band spectrum can't travel very far and have a hard time getting through walls, windows, lampposts and other hard surfaces. That's not very convenient when we want the tiny computers we carry around everywhere to continue working as we walk out of the subway station, down the street and into the office.
In order to compensate for those challenges, wireless carriers building high-band 5G networks are installing tons of small cell sites (about the size of pizza boxes) to light poles, walls or towers, often in relatively small proximity to one another. For that reason, most carriers are deploying 5G city by city
Capacity
Latency
The X-factor: Reliability
Here's the thing: The massive speeds and capacity and low latency of 5G relies on high-band spectrum. But high-band spectrum, with its small coverage areas, isn't very reliable.
Even in cities where carriers say they have deployed 5G, it can be hard to stay connected to the network.
It's probable that for quite a while, even after 5G-enabled devices become more widely adopted, people will use a mix of 4G and 5G. When you're close to a 5G tower, your device will connect and access the superfast speeds. When you're not, your device will revert back to running on 4G.
Other strategies for building out 5G provide greater reliability.
T-Mobile (TMUS) said last month it achieved a nationwide 5G network because, rather than using high-band spectrum, T-Mobile used mostly lower frequency airwaves to build its network. Those signals cover much wider areas and are better at traveling through walls and trees, but "low-band spectrum" doesn't provide the dramatic benefits we think of when we think of 5G.
For now, T-Mobile's 5G network provides, on average, a 20% increase in download speeds compared to 4G LTE, according to a company spokesperson. That's a stark difference from the 100 times-faster-than-4G speeds on high frequency 5G networks.
Eventually, both lower and higher frequency 5G will cover much of the country and we'll get the best of both worlds.
Comment