5G Explained in Simple Terms & What You Should know about 5G in 2021

5G Technology Understanding in Simple Terms

Today we will talk about 5G. There is a lot of confusion about 5G. The aim of this whole blog is to explain to you 5G technology in laymen's terms and what matters to you. I will also pick some key points while looking for a 5G smartphone that you should note. When we think about 5G we generally think only and only about speeds. Speed is one of the factors but the true 5G network is beyond speeds. So let's see what are those important factors which nobody talks about in Youtube videos.

5G network is technically an improvement over existing 4G LTE networks and this implementation will happen soon and it's going to stay with us for 10 odd years. The 5G network is the latest generation of the cellular network whose primary function is to push the limits of the currently existing 4G mobile networks and offer subscribers more efficient wireless communication. Let's talk about improvement in 5G technology.

Improvements in 5G Technology over 4G LTE networks:

1. Latency:

This is the first and far more major improvement in 5G technology. Latency is the delay of 1 packet to another place. In fact, if you do a lot of gaming on your smartphone etc. you will notice a lag that is caused because of high latency. Some of you might say that you do gaming perfectly on your existing 4G smartphone. Yes, you can do but the average speed of the 4G LTE network is 50 milliseconds(best case scenario generally it is a lot higher). But in 5G it is claimed to be as low as 1 millisecond for real-time communication. For eg: An article of Verizon (A US-based network operator) who has already implemented 5G. They said that they are currently experiencing latency in the 5G network of 20-30 milliseconds.

2. Excellent Multiple Internet Connection Integration:

This can be explained with an example. With 4G in a 1 sq km area generally, it can support about 1 lakh devices. With 5G they are claiming that it can increase it by 10x i.e 10 lakh devices. So again we can connect lot more devices in one particular area. A very crude example I can give is if you have ever been to a stadium (now because of Covid-19 times it is not possible especially in India) and you are trying to access the internet on your smartphone you will notice that data speed is so sluggish and might hardly connect. The reason behind this is that 4G LTE networks are not that conveniently optimized. This should actually be solved when 5G technology comes into the picture. As 5G supports a lot of devices simultaneously connecting and they achieved this because of new technology.
Actually, most of the smartphones that are 5G enabled will support MIMO and even multi-user MIMO. They have a 2x2, 4x4, or even 8x8 antenna configuration. They will also use beamforming and other technologies to get higher throw ports.
So again the thing of congestion that we call that we frequently experience in very crowded areas should be a thing of the past in 5G.

3. 5G bands:

They are actually divided into probably two- sub six gigahertz and millimeter-wave. To give you an idea the millimeter wave is technically far faster. It is the faster implementation of 5G that we see 1 gigabit and 1.5 gigabits etc are all millimeter wave. The other part is the sub six gigahertz band. It is actually known as FR1.

i.Sub six Gigahertz:

If we talk about bands it ranges from 410 megahertz to all the way to 6 gigahertz. They are also trying to implement up to 7 gigahertz but officially 410 megahertz to 6 gigahertz. This is also further divided into 1000 gigahertz and above 2.5 gigahertz. The above 2.5 gigahertz is known as mid-band.

To give you an idea of why are they doing these different bands even with a sub-six gigahertz let me give you an example of Wi-Fi Routers. We all have it in our houses, offices, etc. And if you recall, we have the 2.4 gigahertz band that is the regular wifi that we call. If you notice the range is pretty good but the speeds are just average. But if you have 5 gigahertz bands the speeds you get are far better than 2.4 gigahertz. But 5 gigahertz wifi band range is less and the sub six gigahertz band we also have the same thing below thousand megahertz implementation what they have for a sub six gigahertz will have a lot longer range but if we move to the higher bands. i.e the mid-band the range will reduce but again we will get higher speeds.

I feel in India, we might have the mid-band that is above 2500 megahertz to about six gigahertz. So this will give us actually decent speed and a couple of 100 megabits. And we can get a decent range. So I feel in India, we will be getting a mix of these big bands. So again, but it’s advisable if you’re buying a new smartphone to support all the popular multiple, what do you say 5G bands, because some areas they might implement? What do you say for areas not that crowded and they need that range, they might implement under 1000 megahertz. But in urban areas, etc. Mostly, we will get the mid-band that is around 2500 megahertz to about six gigahertz.

ii. Millimeter-wave:

And now let’s talk about millimeter-wave. This is also known as an FR2. And it’s actually 30 gigahertz, technically, from 24 to 50 gigahertz. And as I’ve given you the example of the Wi-Fi router, also that five gigahertz is actually very fast. But again, the range on the five gigahertz band is simply not that great. That’s the same case, even with the millimeter-wave. In fact, the millimeter-wave signal strength is so weak that even if a tree is there in the middle, it will actually block the signal. In fact, if it’s raining heavily, the signal will really block. And in fact, if you have walls and stuff, it will simply not penetrate. So millimeter-wave Yes, you can get very high speeds, you can get those gigabit speeds on millimeter-wave. But the problem is, the range is simply not that great, and it can be easily blocked. In fact, due to bad weather or even a fir tree, etc any obstacle is there, it will get blocked. So these ISP is if they want to implement a millimeter-wave, they have to put in a lot of mini-towers, and that becomes very, very expensive. In fact, every couple of 100 meters, they might have to put small towers, and they should have actually a line of sight. That’s why in the US and some of the vendors are implementing millimeter wave. But it’s a combination of millimeter-wave and sub six gigahertz band. But the problem with the millimeter-wave is that if you are indoors and stuff, you will hardly get the signal because it needs that line of sight. And the signal again gets disrupted. That is the reason that we will see a lot more six sub six gigahertz band five g implementation throughout the world.

Things to be noted while buying a 5G smartphone:

The 5G bands that I’ve mentioned, as you’ll notice, we have various bands, for example, in sub six gigahertz, we have below 1000 megahertz than the mid-band, etc. And so your smartphone also if they say it’s 5G enabled, needs to actually support all those bands to take advantage of it. For example, let’s say if you’re in your area, your ISP that is Reliance Jio is providing 5g on, let’s say our four gigahertz band or whatever. And if you’re a smartphone, technically Yes, let’s say it supports 5g and simply does not have that band, you will not get 5G.

So again, if you’re buying a new smartphone now, make sure that you check what 5G bands are supported because I’ve seen this many of the reviews are simply not talking about it. For E.G: recently it was the case with the OnePlus Nord is they claim that it’s a 5G capable form, but it supports just one band of 5G that is 78 and in fact, that is sort of useless because even in the same city ISP might be offering What do you say 5G on different multiple bands due to the reasons that I’ve mentioned. In fact, due to licensing agreements, one city might have one band, another city might have another band. That’s the same case right now with 4G.

Source: Google

A smartphone, if they say is 5G capable, needs to actually support multiple bands of 5g. Otherwise, there’s a very, very high chance though, if you say your phone has 5G, it might simply not work. And I’ve seen this even with the OnePlus 8T, which also supports just one band of 5G in the sub six gigahertz and only one band of 5g in the millimeter-wave. So if you’re buying the new smartphone, check, check, check what 5g bands are supported.

Recently, I was happy with the Motorola G 5G smartphone, it supports the sub six gigahertz band. And it supports all the levels in the band. So in fact, anywhere in the world where we have sub six gigahertz, it will actually work. So it’s important to check if you’re buying a new smartphone right now, a check for big bands are supported. Many of the other reviewers except travel simply not mentioned this. But this is important. If you plan to keep that smartphone, for example, you’re buying a trip now, for the next three years, this is going to be important. Also, another thing is that as I’ve told you that sub six gigahertz band we have the millimeter-wave that we have.

The thing is that with millimeter wave, only a few smartphones, particularly on the Android front, only a few are actually smartphones are supporting the millimeter-wave for example, the high-end flagships to the Snapdragon 865, and the upcoming Snapdragon 888 will support what do you say millimeter wave, but again, check what bands of millimeter-wave they are supporting. So that is important.

If we talk about the latest iPhone status, the iPhone 12. In India, the variant that is being sold only supports the sub six gigahertz band, not the millimeter wave, only the VM that is sold in us is supporting the millimeter-wave as well as sub six gigahertz band, and looks like worldwide, we will have a lot more implementation of the sub six gigahertz band and even in a country like India, which is very fast, very, very big. And for I would say I was talking we will have an implementation of sub six gigahertz, a lot more. Yes, you might have some pockets of millimeter-wave, maybe in a dense commercial area or a shopping complex or a park where you can experience but again, they’ll be very small pockets of millimeter-wave because it’s very, very expensive to implement properly. What do you say millimeter-wave and blanket the area it’s a lot easier to do it with the sub six gigahertz band. So again, guys, if you’re buying a new smartphone right now with that 5g hype just check what 5g bands actually they support.

Conclusion on 5G implementation in India:

And let’s talk about what is a 5G in India, In the best-case scenario, if everything falls into place, we can expect 5G rollouts, not total rollout limited rollout I would say by end of 2021 but again, few things need to fall in place because of that and in India, definitely we are going to initially get the sub six gigahertz What do you say 5G in India, the millimeter might come on later on. But what do you guys think about do let me know in the comment section below?