Today, the buzz in the cellular world is all about the promise of 5G – otherwise known as the fifth generation of cellular networking. While some carriers have announced 5G products, the truth is, we are still a ways off from actually seeing 5G mass marketed in the way of 4G and LTE. There is also a misperception that like a product launch, 5G will suddenly appear on the market, drumming up mass excitement. It won’t appear all at once; customers will start to see 5G emerge in bits and pieces with various carriers.
So, while “5G” sounds exciting – what is it really? Does the “fifth generation” of cellular networking make your devices faster? While the simple answer may be yes, 5G (like earlier iterations) is a conglomerate of technologies. PCMag reports that “…5G brings three new aspects to the table: greater speed (to move more data), lower latency (to be more responsive), and the ability to connect a lot more devices at once (for sensors and smart devices).”
The Motley Fool also explains that 5G technology will utilize a higher-frequency band on the wireless spectrum called millimeter wave that allows data to be transferred much more rapidly than the lower-frequency band dedicated to 4G.
In terms of the business world, 5G holds a lot of promise, including the ability to launch brand new products and services which weren’t possible before, move into new markets and increase productivity. Some of the specific benefits include:
- Greater capacity. Networks will be better able to cope with many high-demand applications all at once – from connected cars and IoT (Internet of Things) devices to virtual reality experiences and simultaneous HD video streaming.
- 5G is expected to be “ultra-reliable”, meaning no dropped calls or connectivity issues.
- Improved Battery Life. While all this sounds like it might drain your battery pretty quickly, 5G is being designed to extend the battery life of devices by up to ten times.
To put 5G in perspective, let’s take a look at the history of cellular connection:
- 1G gave us analog cellular. We had devices such as pagers to help us communicate
- 2G brought us SMS messaging. It was the first generation of “digital cellular technologies”
- 3G let us share our photos and real-time moments. It expanded device speeds from 200Kbs to a few megabits per second.
- 4G WiMAX and LTE enabled devices to scale up to hundreds of megabits and even gigabit-level speeds
- 5G will be up to 200 times faster than 4G, according to Verizon.
DiamondIT specializes in empowering organizations with the newest technologies and services that can take your business to the next level. What does the next level look like? Enhanced productivity, rock-solid security, and increased profitability – contact DiamondIT at 877-716-8324 for more information.