What is 5G?
It’s been nearly a decade in the making, but 5G is finally
becoming a reality. Carriers started rolling out fixed 5G to select cities
nearly two years ago, and mobile 5G has already starting making appearances in
cities around the U.S. this year, with much more comprehensive rollouts
expected in 2020.
Right now it seems like there are more questions about 5G
than there are answers. Some people are wondering what 5G is, and if they’ll
ever see it in their city, while others are more interested in 5G smart-phones.
And of course, there is the debate about which carrier will have the best 5G
service.
You have questions; we have answers. Here’s everything you
need to know about 5G.
What is 5G?
Before we explain how 5G works, it’s probably a good idea to
explain what 5G is. There are a lot of specifics, which we talk about later
in this post, but here’s a quick primer.
5G is the next generation of mobile broadband that will
eventually replace, or at least augment, your 4G LTE connection. With 5G,
you’ll see exponentially faster download and upload speeds. Latency, or the
time it takes devices to communicate with the wireless networks, will also
drastically decrease.
How does 5G Work?
Now that we know what 5G is, it’s a good idea to understand
how it works, since it’s different from traditional 4G LTE. First, let’s talk
spectrum.
Spectrum
Unlike LTE, 5G operates on three different spectrum bands.
While this may not seem important, it will have a dramatic effect on your
everyday use.
Low-band spectrum can
also be described as sub 1GHz spectrum. It’s the primary band used by carriers
in the U.S. for LTE, and bandwidth is nearly depleted. While low-band spectrum
offers great coverage area and wall penetration, there is a big drawback: Peak
data speeds will top out around 100Mbps.
T-Mobile is the key player when it comes to low-band
spectrum. The carrier picked up a massive amount of 600MHz spectrum at a
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) auction in 2017 and is using it to
quickly build out its nationwide 5G network.
Mid-band spectrum provides
faster speeds and lower latency than low-band. It does, however, fail to
penetrate buildings as effectively as low-band spectrum. Expect peak speeds up
to 1Gbps on mid-band spectrum.
Sprint has the majority of unused mid-band spectrum in
the U.S. The carrier is using Massive MIMO to improve
penetration and coverage area on the mid-band. Massive MIMO groups multiple
antennas onto a single box, and at a single cell tower, to create multiple
simultaneous beams to different users. Sprint will also use Beamforming to
bolster 5G service on the mid-band. This sends a single focused signal to each
and every user in the cell, and systems using it monitor each user to make sure
they have a consistent signal.
High-band spectrum is
what delivers the highest performance for 5G, but with major weaknesses. It is
often referred to as mmWave. High-band spectrum can offer peak
speeds up to 10Gbps and has extremely low latency. The main drawback of
high-band is that it has low coverage area and building penetration is poor.
AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon are all rolling out high-band
spectrum. 5G coverage for the carriers will piggyback off LTE while they work
to build out nationwide networks. Since high-band spectrum sacrifices building
penetration and coverage area for high speed, it will rely on many small
cells. These are low-power base stations that cover small geographic
areas and can be combined with Beamforming to bolster coverage.
How fast is 5G?
The International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) is a specialized agency at the
United Nations that develops technical standards for communication
technologies, and it sets the rules for radio spectrum usage and
telecommunications interoperability. In 2012, the ITU created a program
called “IMT for 2020 and beyond” (IMT-2020) to
research and establish minimum requirements for 5G. After years of work, the
agency created a draft report with 13
minimum requirements for 5G in 2017.
Once the ITU set the minimum requirements for 5G, the 3rd
Generation Partnership Group (3GPP), a collaboration of telecommunications
standards organizations, began work on creating standards for 5G. In December
2017, 3GPP completed its Non-Standalone (NSA) specifications, and in
June 2018 it followed up with its standalone specifications (SA).
Both NSA and SA standards share the same specifications,
but NSA uses existing LTE networks for rollout while SA will use a
next-generation core network. Carriers are starting with the NSA specification,
which means you will fall back on 4G LTE in a non-5G environment.
The standards set by 3GPP closely correspond
with IMT-2020 performance targets and are somewhat complex, but here’s a
general rundown:
§ Peak data rate: 5G
will offer significantly faster data speeds. Peak data rates can hit 20Gbps
downlink and 10Gbps uplink per mobile base station. Mind you, that’s not the
speed you’d experience with 5G (unless you have a dedicated connection), it’s
the speed shared by all users on the cell.
§ Real-world speeds: While
the peak data rates for 5G sound pretty impressive, actual speeds won’t be the
same. The spec calls for user download speeds of 100Mbps and upload speeds of
50Mbps.
§ Latency: Latency,
the time it takes data to travel from one point to another, should be at 4
milliseconds in ideal circumstances, and at 1 millisecond for use cases that
demand the utmost speed. Think remote surgeries, for instance.
§ Efficiency: Radio
interfaces should be energy efficient when in use, and drop into low-energy
mode when not in use. Ideally, a radio should be able to switch into a
low-energy state within 10 milliseconds when no longer in use.
§ Spectral efficiency: Spectral efficiency is “the optimized use
of spectrum or bandwidth so that the maximum amount of data can be transmitted
with the fewest transmission errors.” 5G should have a slightly improved
spectral efficiency over LTE, coming in at 30bits/Hz downlink, and 15 bits/Hz
uplink.
§ Mobility: With
5G, base stations should support movement from 0 to 310 mph. This basically
means the base station should work across a range of antenna movements — even
on a high-speed train. While it’s easily done on LTE networks, such mobility
can be a challenge on new millimeter wave networks.
§ Connection density: 5G
should be able to support many more connected devices than LTE. The standard
states 5G should be able to support 1 million connected devices per square
kilometer. That’s a huge number, which takes into account the slew of devices
that will power the Internet of Things (IoT).
What can 5G do?
Improve broadband
The shift to 5G will undoubtedly change the way we interact
with technology on a day-to-day basis, but it’s also an absolute necessity if
we want to continue using mobile broadband.
Carriers are running out of LTE capacity in
many major metropolitan areas. In some cities, users are already experiencing
slowdowns during busy times of the day. 5G adds huge amounts of spectrum in
bands that haven’t been used for commercial broadband traffic.
Autonomous vehicles
Expect to see autonomous vehicles rise at the same rate that
5G is deployed across the U.S. In the future, your vehicle will communicate with other vehicles on the road,
provide information to other cars about road conditions, and offer performance
information to drivers and automakers. If a car brakes quickly up ahead, yours
may learn about it immediately and preemptively brake as well, preventing a
collision. This kind of vehicle-to-vehicle communication could ultimately save
thousands of lives.
Public safety and infrastructure
5G will allow cities and other municipalities to operate
more efficiently. Utility companies will be able easily track usage remotely,
sensors can notify public works departments when drains flood or streetlights go out, and municipalities will
be able to quickly and inexpensively install surveillance cameras.
Remote device control
Since 5G has remarkably low latency, remote control of
heavy machinery will become a reality. While the primary aim is
to reduce risk in hazardous environments, it will also allow technicians with
specialized skills to control machinery from anywhere in the world.
Health care
The ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC)
component of 5G could fundamentally change health care. Since URLLC reduces 5G
latency even further than what you’ll see with enhanced mobile broadband, a
world of new possibilities opens up. Expect to see improvements in
telemedicine, remote recovery, and physical therapy via AR, precision surgery,
and even remote surgery in the coming years.
Remember massive Machine-Type Communications? mMTC will also
play a key role in health care. Hospitals can create massive sensor networks to
monitor patients, physicians can prescribe smart pills to track
compliance, and insurers can even monitor subscribers to
determine appropriate treatments and processes.
IoT
One of the most exciting and crucial aspects of 5G is its
effect on the Internet of Things. While we currently have sensors that can
communicate with each other, they tend to require a lot of resources and are
quickly depleting LTE data capacity.
With 5G speeds and low latencies, the IoT will be powered by
communications among sensors and smart devices (here’s mMTC again). Compared to
current smart devices on the market, mMTC devices will require fewer resources,
since huge numbers of these devices can connect
to a single base station, making them much more efficient.
Where is 5G now?
So, when should you expect to see 5G in your neighborhood?
Well, it depends on the neighborhood you live in. Some neighborhoods already
have 5G access — meaning that all you need to take advantage of the blazingly
fast speeds is a 5G-enabled smartphone. All of the major U.S. carriers are
working furiously to build out 5G networks, yet deployment across the entire
country will nonetheless take several years. If you’re interested in seeing if
your city has access to 5G, check out this guide.
It’s also worth noting that each carrier has a different 5G
rollout strategy. This means your 5G experience may vary greatly depending on
your carrier. Here are all the details we currently have concerning each
carrier’s deployment plans.
Verizon
Verizon
In its quest to be the first carrier to provide 5G, Verizon
began offering pre-standard fixed 5G in homes in October
2018. Verizon’s fixed 5G service is currently available in portions of Houston,
Indianapolis, Los Angeles, and Sacramento, California. Since then, however,
Verizon has also started rolling out its mobile 5G offering — and so far has
brought mobile 5G to parts of Denver, Minneapolis, and Providence., Rhode
Island.
Verizon is rolling out 5G on higher-frequency spectrum known
as mmWave (28-39GHz). That means that while Verizon’s 5G will offer
blazing-fast speeds when available, it will piggyback off its LTE spectrum for
years to come. According to Verizon, 20 cities will get standards-based 5G in
2019, including Atlanta, Dallas, Memphis, Tennessee, and more.
As for hardware, Verizon already has a few devices that are
available. First up is the 5G version of the Samsung Galaxy S10, but the
carrier also supports the 5G Moto Mod for the Moto Z3 and Moto Z4. The carrier also supports the LG V50
ThinQ. And we can’t forget the Inseego Mi-Fi 5G hot spot, featuring a
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chip.
AT&T
AT&T officially won the race to be the first carrier to
roll out true 5G service. In December 2018, the carrier began offering 5G
in parts of Atlanta; Charlotte, North Carolina; Dallas; Houston; Indianapolis;
Jacksonville, Florida; Louisville, Kentucky; New Orleans; Oklahoma City;
Raleigh, North Carolina; San Antonio; and Waco, Texas. In early 2019, the
carrier also started deploying to parts of Orlando, Florida; Las Vegas;
Nashville, Tennessee; Los Angeles; Austin, Texas; Dallas; and more. And, it
says that the tech will be coming to Chicago, Cleveland, and Minneapolis soon.
Unfortunately, while AT&T’s 5G rollout is pretty
comprehensive, AT&T is initially limiting its 5G service to a select group
of businesses customers. It plans to provide free service and equipment to this
group for at least three months, before rolling out the service to a larger
audience.
Like Verizon, AT&T is rolling out its mobile 5G on
mmWave spectrum. In an interview with Urgent Communications, Dave Wolter, assistant
vice president of radio technology and strategy for AT&T Labs, offered some
insight into what you should expect with the carrier’s 5G service initially.
“If you’re in a downtown urban environment — where it’s going to be pretty much
line of sight until you go around a corner — that’s one thing … If you have a
street lined with trees, that’s going to be a different environment. If you’re
in a heavily treed environment, that’s going to be difficult. All of those
things are going to impact the kind of range that we can anticipate.”
The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G is available on AT&T too —
though currently it’s only worth getting if you’re a business customer. The Netgear Nighthawk 5G Mobile Hotspot was
also announced by the carrier earlier this year.
When it comes to fixed 5G service, it’s going to be a little
bit longer. Trade publication SDX Central reports AT&T will roll
out fixed LTE service in late 2019 over the Citizens Broadband Radio Service
(CBRS) spectrum and eventually migrate to 5G service.
T-Mobile
America’s Un-Carrier is taking a more measured approach.
Instead of racing to be first out of the gate, T-Mobile wants to provide a more
reliable service with more coverage area. In early 2018, T-Mobile announced it
was building out its 5G network in 30 cities. In mid-2019, the
company announced that mobile 5G is available in six cities, including parts of
Atlanta, Cleveland, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and New York. Expect to see
T-Mobile 5G in 30 cities in late 2019. The carrier plans to offer
5G nationwide by 2020.
The carrier also offers the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G for those
who live in areas with 5G and want to take advantage of the new speeds.
T-Mobile is making use of a range of frequency bands for its
5G rollout. While it was initially thought that the carrier would rely mostly
on low-band spectrum, T-Mobile is also using mmWave tech, including 39GHz in
some cities and more mid-band 28GHz in other areas. T-Mobile is also using
600MHz for a more reliable and stable connection — and the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 5G is the first
device to support that 600MHz spectrum.
For fixed 5G, it looks like T-Mobile wants to make some
serious waves. In a statement submitted to the FCC, T-Mobile said
it projects more than 1.9 million in-home wireless broadband customers by 2021.
By 2024, the carrier wants to provide fixed 5G to more than half the ZIP codes
in the U.S., and be the nation’s fourth-largest in-home ISP.
Since T-Mobile CEO John Legere has publicly lambasted
AT&T and Verizon for launching its 5G with mobile hots spots, it’s a pretty
safe bet the carrier doesn’t plan to release its own hot spot, at least not for
a while. Instead, T-Mobile is offering the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G to customers.
Sprint
Sprint wasn’t racing to be the first to deploy, but it has
finally started deploying its 5G tech. The carrier announced that mobile 5G is
available in Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, and Kansas City, Missouri, with
New York City, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C. to soon follow.
Additional markets will be added in the near future.
Sprint will initially launch its 5G network on its extensive
mid-band spectrum (2.5 GHz). That’s the same spectrum the carrier uses for its
4G data network, and it plans to use 128-radio massive MIMO equipment on its
towers to create a 4G/5G split. Since Sprint is one of the few carriers with
lots of extra 2.5GHz spectrum, it can use the excess mid-band to roll out 5G
service quickly and relatively inexpensively in larger cities.
When it comes to hardware, Sprint has actually promised
three 5G products for 2019, and they’re all already available. For starters,
Sprint offers the LG V50 ThinQ. Sprint
also announced a 5G Mobile Smart Hub with
HTC, and the carrier also supports the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G.
T-Mobile and Sprint merger
So what happens when T-Mobile and Sprint merge? Well, both
companies claim the merger will be good for the economy and the country. The
companies also claim that together as the New T-Mobile, it would have the assets and
spectrum on multiple bands to become the first nationwide 5G carrier.
While the combined bandwidth of the two companies would
almost certainly lead to a faster and more reliable nationwide 5G rollout,
there are some issues. For starters, there would be fewer options in the
already anemic U.S. carrier market. And that means less competition for both
consumers and mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs).
With the merger approved now by the FCC, it’s time for the two
to become one, stacking all three bands of 5G spectrum to show us how great
this actually will be for customers.
What 5G phones are available and
should you buy one?
Although 5G will undoubtedly change the way we interact with
each other and consume media, the change won’t happen overnight. It will be a
few years before 5G is up and running smoothly across the U.S. While it’s
ultimately a personal decision, it may be wise to hold off on buying a 5G
handset in 2019, especially considering the fact that a slew of manufacturers
are expected to release 5G-capable handsets in 2020. In addition to the fact that
coverage will likely be very spotty, the hardware will also be first-gen. With
the exception of a phone AT&T plans to release at the end of 2019, most of
the 5G smartphones that will come in early 2019 will likely have single-band 5G
support, rather than hardware than can connect to low-, mid-, and high-spectrum
5G.
Telecom giant Ericsson makes a good argument for waiting on
a 5G smartphone. It reports a second generation of 5G
chipsets will be announced by the end of 2019, featuring enhanced architecture
and lower power consumption. Here’s the list of 5G phones currently out.