The UK government is running out of time to hit their own pre-election target of providing at least a 10 Mbps internet connection in all homes by 2020. Continually delayed connection into these rural areas is stunting growth and preventing innovation. Could faster implementation of 5G be the solution? Probably not, yet anyway.
5G users in the UK could see a vast improvement in their mobile services in the 5G era. No-one is quite sure how fast it will be though. Initially Ofcom were predicting a three of four fold increase in speeds over the current capability of the 4G network. That could prove to be very conservative. Testing is still on going and various 5G delivery methods are still under consideration from different providers but the initial possibilities look tantalising.
With claims of ratified speeds over 7.5Gbps, Samsung appear to be making real progress. Their most recent demonstrations provided a consistent connection of over 1Gbps in a vehicle travelling in excess of 120 MPH, the test also evaluated interruption time as the connection switched from base station to base station. Although it wasn’t like for like, the first UK based tests were conducted by EE in conjunction with Huawei and demonstrated lab based speeds of over 2.5Gbps. Other providers are claiming even faster laboratory test results of up to 10Gbps. This might eventually prove to be unachievable the real world but we can start to assume that the 5G network will provide at least a tenfold increase in downloads speeds by the time of implementation in the early 2020s.
It’s not all about increased speed though. The 5G network will also vastly decrease latency. Latency is the time delay in transferring data to and from a user’s device. Both connection speed and latency massively affect the user’s experience. The average latency on a 4G network of around 50 ms is half of the latency we were used to whilst operating on the 3G network. You would assume the new 5G network might half this again, but the target is for just 1 ms latency. Although it’s a significant engineering challenge, this target could enable a massive revolution in mobile services enabling connections for self-driving cars or other platforms that require ultra-low latency networks.
It’s not only the 5G background infrastructure that requires massive advancement but the device you hold in your pocket too. Currently the modems in modern smartphones aren’t capable of handling the potential speeds that 5G promises. Qualcomm, the world’s largest chip manufacturer, who produce chips for Samsung and Apple, tested the Snapdragon X50 in the Autumn of last year and claim that it will handle speeds in excess of 1Gbps. It’s due to be released in 2019 so it appears as though the next generations of smartphones will be able to take advantage of the potential 5G revolution. Although a fine, of nearly €1 billion, from the European Commission, for apparent abuse of their dominant market position, surely won’t encourage Qualcomm chip development.
Once, or even if, the not insignificant engineer challenges have been addressed, and the targets in terms of speed and latency achieved within commercial networks, what will this mean for the everyday user on the mobile network? Practically it could be pretty amazing. A 30 minute HD television show downloaded in around 5 seconds? Continuous face to face HD video whilst walking down the street with no lag? Virtual reality simulation over mobile networks? Driver less cars able to receive commands with less than 1 ms latency? Removal of the need for a fixed internet connection in a rural area? Maybe.
Sounds exciting to me.
