When it comes to buzzwords in the world of tech, one of the biggest right now has to be 5G. Technologies companies from around the world have been making strides of progress around 5G mobile technology, promising it to be next big revolution. But what is 5G? How is it different from 4G that we currently have? Well, let’s take a quick look at the technology, shall we?
5G Explained!
Simply put, 5G is the 5th generation of mobile internet connectivity. According to the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) standard, in theory, 5G can offer internet speed of up to 20Gbps. While that's the max possible in test conditions, you can expect it to offer an achievable speed of 1Gbps across the coverage area in hotspot cases. To top this, low latency is another key feature in 5G technology, expected to be as low as 1milisecond. This would mean there would minimum delay (almost negligible) in data transfer over a 5G network between two devices.
How is 5G different from 4G?
Every new generation of wireless internet offers better speed and connectivity than the previous one. 5G will offer 10 to 20 times faster internet as well as much better latency, compared 4G technology. It'll have great implications in every day usage of mobile internet like streaming 4K resolution videos without any buffering and faster browsing of even heavy (loaded with rich media) web pages. But that's the simplest of benefits. What's really going to make 5G life-changing is its low latency. This would eventually allow for smart devices and appliances to operate smoothly, paving the way for smart homes in the future.
When does 5G come to India?
The 5G wheels have already started to roll.The current flagship mobile chipset, the Snapdragon 855, which comes with Qualcomm’s X50 Modem that uses the 5G NR technology. Certain major smartphone manufacturers have already announced smartphones that support the new technology and are expected to launch them soon.
Here in India, Airtel has been one of the leaders in preparations for 5G technology. Just last year, Airtel announced successful 5G network trials at their Network Experience Center, where a throughput of more than 3Gbps was achieved. This was the highest measured throughput for a mobile network in 3.5GHz band with a 100MHz bandwidth. More importantly, the end-to-end latency on the network was approximately 1millisecond, which is at par with what is expected from 5G networks that are set to roll out around the globe.
These are some very positive results from tests conducted by Airtel. The telecom operator was also the first to launch 4G in India, and it could well be on its way to bring 5G to Indian consumers in the near future.
Do we really need 5G?
Who could complain about faster internet speed, right? But it's more than just that. Video consumption is on the rise, with over a billion hours of videos being watched daily on YouTube alone. On top of this, with the concept of Internet of Things (IoT) developing across markets, every home or office network should see a sharp rise in network traffic with multiple devices communicating with each other. With 5G, you'll able to connect any supporting electronic device to the internet whether it's your AC, car, watch or even pacemaker. This would allow them to communicate with each other and perform tasks better, or better still operate these devices in real-time, if you're connected to the same network. For example, in the morning, your geyser would know to heat up the water when your alarm clock goes off, while your toaster would start toasting a few minutes later. Thanks to the low latency in 5G network, the communication between these devices would be instantaneous and without any lags. This will also boost self-driving car technology, with the cars would be able to receive instant inputs over 5G network and perform almost immediate corrections whenever required.
Hopefully, this has got you excited about the promising 5G revolution. The rollout of 5G on a grand scale might take a little time though. 5G spectrum auctions are yet to be announced so commercial roll-out will take some time. But whenever 5G technology is made available to consumers, it will definitely stir up the telecom market.
[Brand Story by Airtel]