5G Mobile Network

[Plutonic Panda]

Faster is always better

Samsung's next-generation mobile networks can transfer data at 7.5 gigabits per second for a stationary device and 1.2Gbps for a vehicle moving at about 60mph, the company said Wednesday.

The milestones for the 5G (fifth-generation) network are important validations of the company's approach to improving mobile networks. Those speeds are vastly higher than today's 4G technology, called LTE (Long-Term Evolution), which is widely available in the US but only just arriving in Europe and other relatively wealthy countries.

LTE has a maximum download speed of about 100Mbps, and the coming LTE-Advanced could in principle reach 30 times that: 3Gbps. In practice, LTE download speeds are slower, ranging from 24.5Mbps in Australia to 6.5Mbps in the US, according to OpenSignal measurements published earlier this year. Samsung's 5G test last year hit 1Gbps.

Fast network speeds are important as people download big apps, watch video on phones with ever-larger screens, use mobile networks in place of traditional broadband based on phone or cable TV lines, and expand mobile networking to connect new devices such as cars.

But download speed isn't the sole measure of mobile networking. Other factors that influence people's experience include communication lags called latency, network coverage everywhere a person wants to go, connection reliability, and, of course, expense. Installing the latest network gear is a massive expense that carriers pass on to their customers, one way or another.

Network equipment makers, ever eager to sell next-gen equipment, are hoping carriers will pay for those upgrades, though -- perhaps in 2020.

Ericsson has tested 5G networking at 5Gbps. Huawei is investing $600 million in its 5G research, too. South Korea's government is pushing for 5G networks, and the European Commission set aside $886 million for 5G communications work. And Intel, whose WiMax technology lost out to LTE for 4G networking, is funding 5G research, too.

4G is a standard, but it's not clear yet what form 5G will take. Samsung is pushing an approach called Hybrid Adaptive Array Technology that uses 28GHz radio-frequency signals. That's a much higher frequency used by today's 3G and 4G networks, something that enables higher data rates but imposes limits on transmission range. Samsung's approach overcomes those range limits, though, it said in a statement.

- Samsung boasts its 5G mobile network is fast for cars, too - CNET

[Zuplar]

I still find it amazing I can get 30mb on my phone and when I was in school 56k we thought was amazing.

[OKCisOK4me]

I still can't tell the difference between 3g & 4g...

[AP]

^That's a joke right?

[ctchandler]

I still find it amazing I can get 30mb on my phone and when I was in school 56k we thought was amazing.

Zuplar,
I was so excited to get dial-in on a paper type terminal (not a pc/computer) and it was 300 bps. Your 56k was 56,000 bps, and of course 30mb is 30 million bps. Also, the terminal I used was acoustical, you plugged the phone handset into the terminal. I guess you could call it wireless since no wires were plugged in. Of course the phone handset had a wire so, maybe not wireless. My first personal modem was a 1200bps.
C. T.

[Mel]

I am probably going to have to dumb my phone down. Just talk and txt. Dang med prices keep going up and I need to trim some of the fat off our budget.

[Zuplar]

Zuplar,
I was so excited to get dial-in on a paper type terminal (not a pc/computer) and it was 300 bps. Your 56k was 56,000 bps, and of course 30mb is 30 million bps. Also, the terminal I used was acoustical, you plugged the phone handset into the terminal. I guess you could call it wireless since no wires were plugged in. Of course the phone handset had a wire so, maybe not wireless. My first personal modem was a 1200bps.
C. T.

That's a little before my time, but I think we can both agree technology is amazing. I still laugh when people get mad cause their iPhone is slow. These are probably the same kids that have no idea what DOS is and think Windows 95 was a 100 years ago.

[FighttheGoodFight]

So the US will get this in 2025?