What is 5G and is it harmful ??

So, you might have heard about 5G and the crazy internet speed that comes with it, but do you know what exactly is 5G and how does it work, so 5G is basically the fifth generation of wireless network technology. After almost a decade in the making, it seems like 5G is finally starting to roll out. As we now speak of 5G, let's just look back at the history and see the path that we have come across. So, 1G introduced ourselves to the mobiles, then came 2G which brought messaging to our mobiles, 3G brought us online and finally 4G is the reason for the high-speed internet connection that we are enjoying. Now, we are moving towards 5G, the next generation of network which is like many times better than 4G. We are speaking insane internet speed, like a downloading a HD movie or a huge file within a minute. Not only the download and upload speed increases, the time at which the devices communicate among each other (latency) also decreases in a significant amount with the application of 5G.

Not all 5G is the same??

First of all, in order to enjoy 5G you need a device that is compatible, that is built with a 5G modem and a carrier that provides 5G connection to its customers. So this 5G, it is built on a higher frequency wave than our normal LTE, and there are three different ways in building this network. They are low band network spectrum, mid band spectrum and finally the high band spectrum which is also called as ‘mm Wave’.

The high band network or the mm Wave cycles at a ridiculously high speed providing superfast internet and can transmit a large amount of data in lesser time. But the catch is, higher the frequency rate lower is the range. So, these mm wave finds it difficult to pass through any obstructions like a tree, walls, may be buildings or even the moisture in the air can absorb some amount of this and disrupts the high frequency signals creating a potential problem.

Next, the low band network or also described as the sub 1GHz spectrum. This low band spectrum provides greater coverage, they can travel through walls, through buildings and can go further. This particular bandwidth is nearly depleted for LTE coverage and though it provides better penetration and greater coverage area than the mm Wave, there is a big drawback with this type of 5G. The peak data speed with sub 1GHz 5G tops out around 100Mbps, which is like only 20% faster than 4G. So, technically this low band 5G is not really ‘5G’, but a beefed up 4G.

Finally, there is mid band spectrum, which may not be fast as crazy as mm Wave, but has a better coverage and it is not as slow as sub 1 GHz 5G, creating a sweet spot between mm Wave and low band spectrum. But unfortunately, there is not a lot of mid band available for 5G.

Is 5G Safe??

With the new generation of network ready to roll out, there comes an argument ‘is 5G really safe to mankind ??’, since humans have been exposed to this kind of radiation before. But anyhow recent studies have proven that 5G poses no certain danger to mankind unless you believe in some unknown conspiracy theorists who stated that 5G is the reason for this current outbreak of corona virus, yes these are the same people who said world would end on June 21 this year. Cellular spectrum generally comes under non ionizing radiation which, unlike ionizing radiations does not contain high energy content and so is not a potential threat to human beings.

That is pretty much the basic information about 5G and how it operates. As far as Indian market is concerned, with the pandemic and all that we can expect 5G to become available in and around 2022.

Thank you for reading! Digitally Yours.