What is 5G? 5G is the buzzword now, for IoT devices, smartphones, Metaverse, and everything else in the tech world. Everyone Expects their life to change drastically with the introduction of 5G across the globe. What is 5G and how will it change the world? what does it offer us? are 5G and 5G towers harmful to us? to get the answers to all these questions, read more.
What is 5G
5G is short for fifth-generation in mobile communication technology. Since the start of wireless technology, the count from 0 has begun. with the new generation, the facilities and data speed has also increased tremendously. On average new generation has appeared roughly after 10 years of its predecessor. Even though 0G which was used in radio communication in the middle of the 20th century is an exception, after the release of Telephone (NTT), Japan in 1979 the rough cycle continues.
History of Generations – 1G to 5G
1G
1G was in 1979 in Japan Even though the invention was a major step at that time it is very poor compared to today’s standards. It offered wireless communication with low voice quality, poor security, and noises in between the call. 1G offered a data speed of 2.4kbps which is unimaginable now. It did not provide internet facilities to the devices. 1G used radio waves, so needed large and bulky equipment.
2G
2G was launched in Finland by Global System for mobile communication in 1991. It had more security and sound quality than its predecessor the increase in data speed was huge ie from 2.4kbps to 0.2mbps. Even though it is never comparable to today’s internet speed, 2G introduced the next level of communication which is a text message. Along with text messages (SMS), Multimedia message (MMS) was also a major leap. Compared to 1G the phone became a necessity than a luxury during 2G.
3G
NTT DoCoMo in Japan introduced 3G in October 2001. This is when video-calling people on the opposite end of the earth became possible. It is when the earth started to shrink. All features of 2G such as calling security and calling quality improved very much. Mobile data speed increased to 3mbps which made people download and watch videos from the internet with decent speed. The use of the internet became common during this time. We can safely say that this is the generation that made smartphones into ‘smart’ phones.
4G
The introduction of 4G in the capitals of Sweden and Norway on 14 December 2009 lead us to the standard of mobile usage most of us have now. The average internet speed is 20mbps with all formal facilities in a better version. The huge gaming ability, 4K quality video streaming, High-quality video conferencing, and decent internet speed for all became a fact than fiction during this period. Another large improvement was the reduction in latency (the time taken for a click in on your phone takes to reach the server) to below 100, and sometimes around 25milliseconds, making Online gaming possible.
But we wanted faster internet, and better facilities like high res video calling, which even 4G was not capable of. also, the loss of signals is quite common on 4G networks. we all have pushed on airplane modes repeatedly to get a better signal, have we not? Here is how airplane mode works.
5G
From 1G to 4G there was a very long journey that changed the world. we now are able to call or interact live with anyone in any part of the globe. we have instant access to all of the internet and the infinite information t our fingertips, we play online games, watch movies, and services even allow us to stream games from a server directly to our phone. But 5G is said to be even bigger than all of the generations.
This is 2022 and 5G is about to be around us. On 2019 April 3 5G was first introduced in many parts of Chicago and Minneapolis. It promises a huge data speed of 300mbps. The other huge attraction of 5G is its low latency of 1ms. (It was 200ms in 4G). It also improves security, reliability, and higher bandwidth.
5G speed
According to the tests done by open signal, the speed of 5G in various countries is given below.
Possibilities of 5G
Online gaming
For gamers, 5G means fast data speed and low latency. As seen above the internet speed will increase by more than 10 folds which means an enormous change in downloading speed. If you downloaded a 10GB game within 10 minutes in 4G then it would be possible within a minute in 5G. More than that low latency will take the whole online gaming experience to the next level. Latency is the time difference between the instruction sent by you to the corresponding server and getting the result back.
Also, the promise of fast internet to most users will take down the advantages of gamers with fast internet over the one with poor connection in online gaming. Also, smooth gaming with more participants will give a whole new online multiplayer gaming experience. online gaming is about to change with the latency as low as 1ms, and the data transfer rates as high as 1Gb/s. The existing multiplayer games will benefit, and it will finally make streaming games off a server feasible and worthwhile.
Remote control
The remote control is the facility to control a machine from a distance. The major challenge Remote control has with 4G is the high latency. For example, if a remote control car works with the help of 4G, it will have a latency of about 50-120ms. So if you give an instruction to turn the wheel there might be a lag of about 100ms and might lead to an accident.
With 5G around us, the latency is said to decrease up to a minimum of 1ms, and most tests confirm it rarely goes beyond 5ms. It will thus enable real-time remote control over the machine halfway across the world. It won’t only change the gaming industry but the world as a whole. It will benefit countless people and make the world a better place.
For example, a specialized doctor can perform an operation on a patient in real-time from anywhere on the earth, pilots can control airplanes, tanks, trains, etc remotely. Robots can replace humans in the battlefront, mining, and other hazardous industries with real humans controlling them.
Cloud storage is as fast as local storage.
Most of us will be well known for cloud storage, which is storing the data online under a third party and accessing it online when needed, and downloading it to local storage when needed. This will help us to keep our local storage freer while storing our data safer. The lag users with even decent internet connection face while going through cloud storage in 4G is very huge, it is said that by the introduction of 5G this lag will be fixed to an extent.
Challenges with 5G
As every coin has two sides, with the introduction of each Generation of wireless technology the number of towers also increased tremendously. This is because the penetration power and the range the waves can travel without distractions reduce as wavelengths reduce. therefore, in order for good Coverage, we need more towers for the same area. 5G which is in the millimeter range travels very less which will result in a huge number of towers that will impact animals birds and trees. (The increase in the number of towers is not linear it is exponential!!).
Every year numerous birds collapse into various towers and face death also it is known that exposure of eggs to such radiations leads to the disfigurement of birds from birth. With each year society becomes more responsible citizens and aims for sustainable development, the numerous towers cause a challenge. With the increasing population, the free space available for building towers also decreases. This will lead to deforestation and will lead to various environmental issues.
Will 5G or 5G towers cause damage to humans?
People have been worried about mobile radiation since the popularisation of Nokia’s 2G phones era. Many people still believe that mobile radiation is harmful and can cause damage to humans and other living things. This is a baseless claim. There is no direct relationship between radiation from mobile phones and any human diseases to date. If it were, then there would be an apocalypse due to certain diseases at least 5 years ago. Electromagnetic radiation is divided into mainly 7 regions by the scientist for us to learn about them quantitatively. they are
RADIO WAVES, MICROWAVES, INFRARED WAVES, LIGHT WAVES, UV WAVES AND X-Ray, and GAMMA RAYS
In this list, the harmful effects increase from left to right. The light waves or the light which we see as harmless is right to the radio waves( the wave used for telecommunication ), ie Radio waves are less harmful than visible light. the IR waves can transfer energy to water, making it hot, and you may consider it harmful, if you may. But do remember that long-term exposure to visible light can cause darkened skin, Hot air currents, and high discharge of water through the skin (AKA tan, heat waves, and sweating).
In short, mobile radiation is not harmful, (it might have side effects, but nothing worth concern ). and the whole claim is nothing but an uninformed misunderstanding or some kind of propaganda that caters to many sectors of the society.