5G has turned out to be a “must-have” in the last two years. While the latest generation of cell service had a rocky start due to conspiracy theorists and other news from 2020 and 2021, it’s really taken off this year. And this is true even though many people don’t really understand 5G and why it’s as special as it is. Let’s take a deep look into 5G and why it’s different from any of the “Gs” before it.
Just a little stuff before we get into the meat and potatoes
To really understand why 5G is so special you sort of need to understand how cellular technology has changed in the past 50 years. I could write a book about it — and maybe some day I will. But for now here’s a very quick understanding of how cellular has evolved.
Before 1G
Before 1G, there were several different forms of analog cellular service. Digital technology wasn’t “there yet” in the 1970s and 1980s. So, cell phones used many different technologies, the latest being the Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS) which was still around in the early 21st century. Other than that, the less said about it the better.
1G
It wasn’t called 1G at the time because no one knew how digital cell phone service would evolve. Call it what you will, though, digital service started taking over from analog service in the mid-1990s and would keep evolving into the mid-2000s. This was voice-only service for the most part. Text messaging was possible but that was about the limit of it.
2G
2G, which still wasn’t called 2G, started introducing data services to go along with voice service. This was nothing like what you see today. It was basic, basic web browsing, text emails, and that’s all. Still it was better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick and the idea that you could get your emails from everywhere seemed kind of magical.
3G
3G was really the first technology to really put a lot of work into the data experience with phones. It had the speed you needed to load full web pages, if you were patient. At this point, though, text and data transmissions were really two different things and that’s how it worked best.
4G/LTE
Here’s where it got messy. By the early 2010s, customers were savvy enough to want the best, or want what they thought was the best. Some carriers started calling their service “4G” when it didn’t meet the international definition of 4G, and that meant that when “real” 4G started rolling out, they needed a new name. They called it LTE, from the term “Long Term Evolution” which referred to a way to keep the GSM standard used in Europe and North America alive a little longer.
The biggest change between LTE and 3G, other than faster speeds, was the idea that voice calls could travel the same data pathways as web content. This meant better call quality and also it meant that customers really couldn’t effectively know what was going on behind the scenes because there were so many options.
Getting back to the magic of 5G
With so much confusion, international engineers went back to the drawing board for 5G. They designed a system to work in five very basic ways:
- It had to incorporate voice and data seamlessly.
- It had to be able to work on many different frequencies.
- It had to have the capability for really, insanely high speeds.
- It had to keep power consumption low.
- It had to have the lowest possible latency.
Today’s 5G networks manage all these things. You’d think the real winner would be the third one, capability for insanely high speeds. 5G definitely does that, but you need an ultrawideband connection and you need to be within about 500 feet of the tower. So that limits a lot of its use. The point, though, is that those high speeds are for the future. They’re not for today. In general, you’re not going to notice much more than 10Mbps connection on your cell phone. If you can download at 1,000Mbps that’s great and it’s going to help you win bar bets, but not much else.
The real winner is the last one: lowest possible latency. Latency is, broadly defined, the time difference between when you ask for something and when you get it. On internet connections, it’s the difference between when you tap something and when the screen reacts in some meaningful way. Raw speed doesn’t really make a connection “feel” fast. Low latency does.
And that’s why it’s the real magic of 5G.
Put down the speedtest apps
I know it’s fun to test your download speed. I know you’ll get that little burst of serotonin when you see really high numbers. Those apps haven’t really evolved to tell the whole story, though. Some will show you latency, and in general they’ll show you that your 5G connection has a latency about 1/4 what you were getting with LTE. But they only test latency once, and for LTE connections it can really vary. With 5G you’re getting stable, low latency and that’s going to be the thing that keeps you browsing quickly.
If you want to know more, if you have any questions about cellular service or cellular technology, call us! We’re here for you during East Coast business hours! The number is 888-233-7563 and if it’s after hours, fill out the form below. We’ll get back to you, usually within one business day.
