What Is 5G And Why Is C-Band Important?

What exactly is 5G? The "5" means it is the fifth and the “G“ simply means it is a new generation of wireless technology. One that will help us to connect many more devices to the Internet and also allow faster transmission speeds than anything we’ve seen previously. Over the years, for most people, the generations have been defined by their data transmission speed. Each generation has also introduced technology that made it incompatible with the previous generation.

For example, “1G” used an analog signal. “2G” technologies, such as CDMA, GSM, and TDMA, were digital. “3G” technologies, such as EVDO, HSPA, and UMTS, increased speeds from 200kbps to a few megabits per second. “4G” technologies, such as WiMAX and LTE, were the next step and they have been scaled up to hundreds of megabits and even gigabit-level speeds.

“5G” brings three more items to the table: bigger channels, lower latency (less delay), and the ability to connect a lot more devices at once. This last one to me is very important, and maybe the biggest reason to move to 5G, as we have so many “smart” devices that need to communicate with the Internet. This is what sometimes has been referred to as “The Internet of Things.”

Still, 4G technology will remain prevalent. 5G phones currently still require 4G networks and coverage. Initially, all 5G networks made use of 4G to establish connections, something called "non-standalone." We're moving away from that towards "standalone" networks, but according to what I’ve read, there's still no standard for voice calls over 5G. Yet. So every time you want to make a phone call, your phone has to fall back to 4G. Part of the 5G “spec” allows 5G phones to combine 5G and 4G channels invisibly and seamlessly to the user. The relationship between 4G and 5G has caused AT&T for example to start calling its 4G network "5G Evolution," because it views improvements to 4G as a major step to 5G. 

This all means that while US carriers will be shutting down their 2G and 3G networks over the next few years, 4G still has many years ahead of it as part of the 5G equation. The future of 5G may actually lie with “C-Band.” For 5G to offer an experience that's noticeably better than 4G, it needs broad, dedicated channels, ideally 50MHz or wider. For 5G to cover entire cities, it needs to be on a frequency below about 6GHz, so it can get decent range from towers. 

AT&T and Verizon aren't currently using any airwaves that fit these criteria. For the most part, AT&T and Verizon are still delivering 5G that's either no faster than LTE would be on the same frequencies or has poor range.

C-Band can fix this problem. The government is auctioning off 280MHz of airwaves that are likely to go up to about a half-mile from each tower, so there’s plenty of bandwidth for several different wireless carriers to offer solid 5G using mostly existing cell sites. The top C-Band bidders are Verizon, AT&T, Comcast, Charter, T-Mobile, US Cellular, and Dish.

All of these companies are either mobile network providers or cable companies. They've all expressed interest in running their own 5G networks, at some point. While the cable companies don't run their own mobile networks yet (they resell service on Verizon's network), they could build their own, or lease their spectrum to one of the three major wireless carriers in a partnership.

Read more about “C-Band” and how it fits in to the future of 5G here.


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