The 5G Era
Technology is always evolving and it’s important to know few technologies that we come across in our daily lives. Telecommunication nowadays has become part and parcel of our life. People used land phones in the past and now we are in the era of wireless communication. Gone is the era of 3G and 4G, now we are talking about 5G. What actually these G’s are? Is 5G going to be a revolution? Let’s find out!
Wired communication
The very moment we hear this word, we remember landline phones. Have you ever wondered using a wire how did they establish a connection between so many phones over states and countries?
Actually, there was no single straight wire connected between these phones; there used to be exchange offices. If a call was made from Hyderabad to Guwahati, first the message would be encrypted to a signal and transferred through the exchange port nearest to you, to the main exchange office in Hyderabad, now there it connects the line to Guwahati, and our signal is sent to the nearest exchange port to the listener over there.
What is a phone number?
There are many exchange ports in any city, so how does my call reach my particular friend? This is where the phone number comes into the picture. If you have ever bought a phone number, you might remember them asking for address proof, isn’t it? This information is all stored in these exchange offices, which sort a path to the call based on the address the phone number registered!
Wireless communication
Slowly man wanted his phone to move. Wired phones changed to wireless! The signal now is transferred through the air using towers. But do you think establishing direct straight signal towers is possible on a spherical surface like the earth with many mountains and obstacles all the way?
In reality, mobile phones are not entirely wireless; only the transfer of the signal from mobile to the nearest antenna is wireless. These antennas again use optical fiber for further transfer. They act as mobile switching centers instead of exchange offices.
G for Generation
Generations have changed from this wired communication to wireless, advancing with new technology every era.
Initially, these phones were limited to audio calls (1G), later messages were also sent(2G). Internet appeared in the phone (3G), this internet lead to a smartphone with HD streaming, high-speed communication (100mbps), and video chat (4G), now the era of 5G has come.
4G the smartphone revolution
4G became the foundation on which the smartphone revolution was built, leading to the ‘there’s an app for that’ mentality that powered photo sharing, video streaming, social media, e-commerce, and other mobile applications to become a part of our daily routine.
It paved the way for Netflix and Amazon Prime Videos dominance within the film industry — putting movie content at our fingertips.
It brought social media away from the laptop and into our hands with Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok — allowing us to share high-resolution images and videos to friends, family, and maybe even millions of followers.
LTE vs VoLTE
This 4G to enter into our lives took a very long route because of its unsatisfiable requirements. The government suggested using this with gradual changes, termed it as 4G Long Term Evolution. This used optical fibers to send fast data transfer but however used the radio frequencies for voice calls. These radio frequencies had massive disturbances. Later, this was corrected to Voice over LTE ( VoLTE), joining the voice signals also to pass through the same kind of transfer through an optical fiber. VoLTE boosted up voice call clarity.
5G the upcoming miracle
The new technology now is not limited to a smartphone but indeed makes homes and cities smarter. 5G uses unique radio frequencies that are higher and more directional than those used by 4G. The larger the frequency, the greater its ability to support fast data without interfering with other wireless signals. Strong security with ultra-high reliability, ultra-low latency, extreme user mobility, entry to the world of IoT, and many futuristic luxuries. It allows frequency bands up to 95 GHz, where 4G provide us only up to 2.5 GHz
5G not only makes us smarter but also may bring some problems. One big problem we are going to face is battery drain on devices. The speed this technology is claiming seems difficult to achieve because of the incompetent technological support in most parts of the world. Many old devices would not support 5g; hence, they need to be replaced with a new expensive deal; developing infrastructure requires high cost. Security and privacy issues yet to be solved.
- An article by Manchikatla Navya Sri
