When I sat down to write this article, I realized that I’d already written something like it, believe it or not. And believe it or not, it was five whole years ago. Don’t believe me? Here it is. Back then, 5G was really just a theory that was starting to get implemented, but now it’s sort of the standard for cell phones. And yet, there are no “consumer 5G boosters.” Or, well, there sort of are. This is why I need to write a whole new article.
Where I thought 5G would go, five years ago
When 5G was first pitched, it resembled the “5G+” or “UWB” sort of 5G that you get in dense city centers. Super high speed service that runs on frequencies over 28GHz. The big problem at the time was how you were going to roll that out to the whole country. Traditional cell towers are spaced about a mile apart, but with this sort of 5G you need towers that are spaced only about 500 feet apart. If you use the “rule of squares,” this gives you an astounding fact. A traditional cell system needs one tower to serve one square mile. A cell system running high-frequency 5G may need as many as 100 towers to serve the same space. That’s a lot more expensive, and that’s why a lot of folks (myself included) didn’t see how that was going to be possible.
Where we actually went
That sort of 5G does exist, obviously. But it exists only in really densely populated spaces where there are enough people to use it, so that the cost is justified. Where 5G went instead, makes a lot more sense for average folks.
Rather than just use those high bands, 5G technology replaced the aging 3G towers which used the 700MHz and 850MHz bands. These towers were converted over to 5G. Cell carriers then added extra capacity using the 600MHz and 3000MHz bands. These bands don’t have as much space for data, so data speeds are a lot slower there even with 5G. But, you don’t need to make your towers any closer in order for things to work. That’s a big plus.
How this affected the booster market
When carriers started moving 3G out and moving 5G in, this was a huge win for cell phone booster makers. It meant that essentially every cell booster made in the last decade was instantly 5G compatible. So in truth we really already do have 5G cell boosters. Like Dorothy’s ruby slippers, they were with us all the time.
This has meant that cell booster makers had the luxury of going slower when bringing new boosters to market. New boosters will be needed for 600MHz, 3000MHz, and 28GHz 5G (also known as low-band, mid-band, and millimeter-wave 5G) but with most consumers already getting some 5G boost, they’re not needed as urgently. Wilson and SureCall have developed some boosters for these frequencies but they are priced exclusively for the commercial market.
Will we get a 5G booster that works on all 5G bands?
Never say never. Now that the FCC will have about 18 months of being able to function normally, there’s a possibility that cell phone companies will benefit. Now would be the time to submit those multi-band boosters for FCC approval. Certain rule changes would be needed to make them work, because the rules governing cell boosters were made before 5G. But with 5 commissioners, it’s possible.
However, it’s still not clear how expensive such a booster would be. Cell boosters are a great addition to homes, offices, vehicles, and even boats. But they’re not cheap. There’s a reason for that, and I go into it here. Adding three new classes of radio certainly isn’t going to make boosters cheaper, either. I think that the cell booster makers are weighing development costs vs. sales here. They can already say their boosters work with 5G, because they do. What’s the real value to the customer to making sure they work with all 5G? I’m not sure.
That’s why you shouldn’t wait for a true multiband 5G booster.
If you have bad reception indoors — and who doesn’t — check out the great selection of products at Solid Signal! We can help you choose the best booster from our wide selection. Call us at 888-233-7563 and we’ll help you make sense of all of it. Or, fill out the form below and we’ll get right back to you!
