5g

[Av Gorritt]

I suspect that many people who use broadband , will not be too bothered about the technicalities of it all . Really , all that matters is a decent speed and no glitches/ downtime etc . and if they (we) get that we'll be happy .

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

I suspect that many people who use broadband , will not be too bothered about the technicalities of it all . Really , all that matters is a decent speed and no glitches/ downtime etc . and if they (we) get that we'll be happy .

Totally. 2.4 GHz WiFi has been around for 20 years now and 5 Ghz WiFi for at least 10 years so not new tech by any stretch.

5G telecoms on the other hand is so new, most people incuding the telcos themselves, let alone a bunch of us yokels won’t know for years how good or bad it will be. So just take it as it comes.

 

[milkloss]

Totally. 2.4 GHz WiFi has been around for 20 years now and 5 Ghz WiFi for at least 10 years so not new tech by any stretch.

5G telecoms on the other hand is so new, most people incuding the telcos themselves, let alone a bunch of us yokels won’t know for years how good or bad it will be. So just take it as it comes.

Let’s face it, unless you’re very close to a town, the chances of us yokels seeing 5g within ten years is very slim.

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

Let’s face it, unless you’re very close to a town, the chances of us yokels seeing 5g within ten years is very slim.

Our local EE masts were upgraded to 4G in late 2013/early 2014. By February 2014 I was successfully using a 4G broadband router with EE. Vodafone upgraded their masts to 4G around 6-9 months later. This was around 12-18 months from when the general 4G introduction started in the UK.

Right now we are just starting to get 5G coverage in the capital and bigger regional cities.

If we follow a similar timeframe to 4G then I’d say rural coverage will begin to gain significant pace around 12 months from now. Depends what they need to do upgrade or change the base infrastructure.

 

[Steevo]

Our local EE masts were upgraded to 4G in late 2013/early 2014. By February 2014 I was successfully using a 4G broadband router with EE. Vodafone upgraded their masts to 4G around 6-9 months later. This was around 12-18 months from when the general 4G introduction started in the UK.

Right now we are just starting to get 5G coverage in the capital and bigger regional cities.

If we follow a similar timeframe to 4G then I’d say rural coverage will begin to gain significant pace around 12 months from now. Depends what they need to do upgrade or change the base infrastructure.

Doubling the number of masts needed in rural areas will take a bit more time to achieve consistently good coverage though.

 

[Steevo]

I still think 5g will soon become a sensible alternative to fixed line broadband, not to mention those on satellite!

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

Doubling the number of masts needed in rural areas will take a bit more time to achieve consistently good coverage though.

Don’t know enough about whether they’ll need significantly more masts. I would hazard they will work with what they’ve got.

The main frequencies in the UK for 5G are around 3.5 GHz. So not miles different to existing networks. The millimetre wave 5G (above 30 GHz) is a way off yet.

The bases will need significantly improved (fibre) connections back to their core networks too if the 10x faster claimed speeds are to be realised.

 

[Steevo]

Don’t know enough about whether they’ll need significantly more masts. I would hazard they will work with what they’ve got.

The main frequencies in the UK for 5G are around 3.5 GHz. So not miles different to existing networks. The millimetre wave 5G (above 30 GHz) is a way off yet.

The bases will need significantly improved (fibre) connections back to their core networks too if the 10x faster claimed speeds are to be realised.

Oh really?! I thought they only covered half the distance as 4G.

 

[Av Gorritt]

I still think 5g will soon become a sensible alternative to fixed line broadband, not to mention those on satellite!

That would be good (I think) . Technological advances have a habit of becoming "old hat" in a very short space of time . It may well be that in the very near future we will accept 5g as normal , without a thought . It's happened in other cases . I well remember the original mobile phone we had . A shoulder bag type thing with a conventional looking handset attached . There was a bank of connections in the bag , and if you transferred it to your vehicle , you unplugged it all and re-inserted the terminal block into another set behind the seat . Cost about £2000 then , I think , perhaps more . Compare the phones we now accept as normal , and you see what I mean .

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

Oh really?! I thought they only covered half the distance as 4G.

It probably won’t be a one size fits all solution. They will use a multitude of frequency bands.

The longer wavelength option @ around 3.5 GHz and lower are better suited to rural areas - better radio distances, fewer bases, also less populated - so they could also re-purpose existing spectrum from 3G/4G as folks move off it.

In dense urban centres, airports, at festivals, railway stations, stadiums etc the (> 30 GHz) the very short “millimetre” wavelength option would be better suited. There is more scope for lots of tiny “pico” or “femto” size cells/bases

 

[J B]

I still think 5g will soon become a sensible alternative to fixed line broadband, not to mention those on satellite!

Don't you think 4g already does that for some?

 

[Steevo]

Don't you think 4g already does that for some?

Yes, very much. Not mainstream though....whereas 5G could be.

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

Very, very few handsets supporting 5G. Just had a look at the industry 5G website; in the UK only the following handsets have been or about to be released...

Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G
Samsung Galaxy S10 5G
OnePlus 7 Pro 5G
LG V50 ThinQ
Huawei Mate 20 X 5G
Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G
Oppo Reno 5G
Royole FlexPai

The word is that it’s going to be a better bet to wait until Qualcomm (one of the massive wireless chipsets makers) release their “all-band” 5G chipset.

Also Apple (who have an ongoing legal dispute with Qualcomm) recently bought Intel’s wireless chipset business, will wait for the dust to settle before bringing out their own 5G enabled chips and handsets.

So the smart money, says wait a little while longer, as what you buy now might not be as future proof as what you may think. Also the network is very much in its infancy, so coverage would be very patchy indeed.

 

[Steevo]

Very, very few handsets supporting 5G. Just had a look at the industry 5G website; in the UK only the following handsets have been or about to be released...

Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G
Samsung Galaxy S10 5G
OnePlus 7 Pro 5G
LG V50 ThinQ
Huawei Mate 20 X 5G
Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G
Oppo Reno 5G
Royole FlexPai

The word is that it’s going to be a better bet to wait until Qualcomm (one of the massive wireless chipsets makers) release their “all-band” 5G chipset.

Also Apple (who have an ongoing legal dispute with Qualcomm) recently bought Intel’s wireless chipset business, will wait for the dust to settle before bringing out their own 5G enabled chips and handsets.

So the smart money, says wait a little while longer, as what you buy now might not be as future proof as what you may think. Also the network is very much in its infancy, so coverage would be very patchy indeed.

If that post had been at the start of the thread it would have been much shorter!

Best advice/info yet.

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

I still think 5g will soon become a sensible alternative to fixed line broadband, not to mention those on satellite!

Vodafone Gigacube 5G @ £50 / month. Be interesting to see the real world performance

 

[Stuart J]

What do we think about the health concerns?

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

What do we think about the health concerns?

What health concerns?

 

[Stuart J]

What health concerns?

Many unanswered questions on 5G particularly on the potential health issues. Also with the much shorter wavelengths there need to be many more antennae as the range is much shorter.

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

Like all the radio signals and services that surround us today, it’s non-ionising....so as long as the SAR limits don’t exceed the health guidelines then personally I don’t see an issue.

Most governmental studies have shown no correlation. NHS says no specific concern....

Is 5G dangerous or safe?

How dangerous is 5G or is it safe. We look at all the fears surrounding 5G and compare to the scientific evidence.

5g.co.uk

What’s your take on it?

 

[Steevo]

Vodafone Gigacube 5G @ £50 / month. Be interesting to see the real world performance

Impressive for unlimited data!

Hopefully in 18mths it might be a nice leverage for Gigaclear...!