Speed is the new trend of the telecom sector. Everyone loves to enjoy speedy internet so it is no wonder that all the telecom giants around the world struggling to make it even faster. The steady technology empowerment is making the society more and more dependent on faster and stable internet connection but with every stride of technological up-gradation, the wireless signals seem to be little leaden to cope up with the speed requirement of digital savvy people. In order to tuck in sufficient bandwidth for the important wireless feeds, we need a completely new form of wireless network that is where the 5G comes in the picture. Similarly like 3G and 4G, 5G is a wireless network, which complements with the increasing number of devices that use the internet connection because it’s not just the phone and the computer but many home appliances, car, door lock, and wearables are also progressively getting connected with the internet. Come let’s see how 5G will bring revolution in our lives:
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What 5G stands for and where did it originate from?
5G is the fifth generation of wireless technology. The journey started with 1G in the early eighties and no one has ever thought that the path is going to be smoother as we pass the eras. That time Smartphone was affordable by the only filthy rich businessman who can pay off the heavy charges for even receiving the calls. The whole scenario has been changed in the early nineties with the introduction of 2G when the market was flooded with more compact devices with the added advantage of sending text messages between two devices and low charges. Consequently first time ever people started considering it a worthwhile expense to do.
The doors of opportunities were opened wide for the industry leaders in 1998 when the world moved on to 3G. Third generation telecom technology enabled people to make low rate calls and browse the internet. Browsing the internet on phone was such a fascinating thing for people despite the lack of speed.
Technology continued to evolve; data speed became more power efficient and faster over every passing generation. In 2008, when 4G hit the market, devices had become advanced and a viable alternative to a computer. 4G has magnified a lot of capabilities that were incorporated into the third generation wireless network. People could browse the faster internet, make good quality calls, send bigger text messages and above all now they can download and upload bigger files, images and HD videos without any obstacle.
After that 4G LTE (long term evolution) added to 4G connectivity. LTE is considered to be the fastest and more efficient version of 4G compared to top competing technology like WiMax. The difference between the two is like Blue Ray and HD DVDs, both deliver the same result but important is to create a standard for everyone to use. LTE did the same and made 4G even faster and efficient.
While 4G and LTE have improved a lot in terms of technology and data speed in last few years, tech companies are waiting for its upcoming generation 5G with all good reasons, as it is going to be a thundering step forward in telecom and Smartphone technology.
How 5G will have an effect on our lives:
5G will build upon the strong foundation of 4G LTE. It will allow the users to send text messages, make calls and access internet like its predecessors but
– It will be quick and effortless for the consumers to upload and download the ultra HD Videos. 4G LTE offers maximum speed up to 100 Megabit/ sec which takes almost an hour to download a short movie in favorable conditions. But people hardly enjoy the maximum speed of 4G due to numerous disruptions like other WiFi signals, building microwaves and so on.
5G would drastically increase the speed of data transfer across the network. It could take the speed maximum up to 10 Gigabit/sec that means it would be possible to download a full HD movie in only a few seconds.
– It would also reduce latency (the loading time) as well. One major problem in today’s self-driven cars is the delay in communication between car’s sensor and the data center. 5G would make all the safety promises fulfilled with its ultra-low-latency. It will allow the driver to reduce the speed limit when needed and would make driving safer.
– It would smoothen your experience with virtual reality as well.
– It would provide wireless broadband the capability needed to connect with thousands of devices at the workplace and home thus we could get smarter home and workplaces.
– Employment of robotic technology would be enhanced in medical, automobile and even in daily task management at home and offices. This all would be done in a more seamless manner due to the low-latency feature of 5G network.
– Another benefit of 5G is, we would be able to get the feed of live concerts, games and much more on our mobile and laptop and watch them anytime we want because 5G would have the ability to stream images and videos directly to your phone and laptops in high resolution. This is definitely going to be a mind-blowing aspect of business and personal life.
– We can get the complete benefits of artificial intelligence once we get the access to 5G broadband. That means we can get the real-time analyses data from the satellites that are launched into space. We would be able to communicate with the different objects in the space. We can also use artificial intelligence for mineral prospecting and refining.
When do we get 5G?
It is already available in some test locations in the US but does not expect it to hit the market soon. As per the experts, 5G will be available by 2020 but this wait would be worthwhile for the digital savvy people.
So be ready to enjoy all the new possibilities that would be available with the launch of 5G wireless network and devices.
Note: This post was originally published in April 2017 and has been completely revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.