5G is available on three different types of spectrums - Low-band, Mid-band and High-band Spectrum.

New Delhi | Jagran Tech Desk: The succession of smart telecommunication networks, from first generation analogue voice, 1G (in 1980s) to the fourth generation LTE, 4G (from 2010s onward) had started to leap towards 5G in 2019, whose pace although got hindered due to COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, but has gained momentum yet again. 5G, the fifth generation telecommunication standard that began to replace the already available fourth generation LTE in a few pockets and boroughs of various parts of the world, is expected to eventually replace or at least supplement the already-available 4G, just like 4G started replacing 3G, and 3G its predecessors before that.

How 5G works?

Unlike its predecessors, the 5G is available on three different types of spectrums, each of which requires a specific antenna for its transmission, also implying to the availability of better network spaces due to multiplicity of options. There is Low-band Spectrum, Mid-band Spectrum, and High-band Spectrum, in decreasing order of the coverage. This simply means that although a low-band spectrum will have a wider coverage area, it will transmit lower network speed. Whereas a high-band spectrum will have smaller coverage area, but it will transmit the fastest network speeds. Each spectrum will differ in collateral and operational costs as well, depending on the demand or feasibility from the ends of respective service providers.

How fast is 5G?

This totally depends on the band that the service provider is providing to its users. According to a CNET report, even the low-spectrum 5G band will provide the downloading speed upwards of 400 MBPS, with a Los Angeles-installed AT&T high spectrum 5G network leading to peak download speed as high as 1.8 GBPS. In the pockets and boroughs of the UK, the US, South Korea, and Australia, where various service providers have already rolled out the 5G network, the average 5G downloading speed was recorded at close to 500 MBPS.

The report says that with 5G at its zenith, a two-hour movie could be downloaded in just 8.2 seconds with seamless pace.

What will change with the dawn of 5G?

The tech nerds and enthusiasts are anticipating the 5G network to eventually replace the currently available broadband services. Since a lightning-fast 5G network is meant not just for the smartphones, but also for other smart devices, such as smart TVs and real time lag free gaming devices among others, it is expected to usher an era of telecommunication far different from the one we already know about.

However, 5Gs rolling-out requires big-time investments depending on the low, mid, or high spectrum range a service provider decides to offer to its users. This means that with big-time speeds will come the higher costs for the users, and exclusive utilisation of the service, at least for initial some months after its rolling out, depending on how the market receives the successor of 4G.

Posted By: Abhinav Gupta

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Understanding 5G, the fifth generation of smart network; how the technology works and how it will change our lives? - Jagran English