A few questions about 5g, the speeds, the roll out date etc

The Matrix · 19 Nov 2018 at 09:31

Does 5G basically mean that you'll use up your monthly data allowance in 5 seconds ?

Seriously though, what kind of speeds can we expect on a mobile phone with 5G, i maybe wrong but i believe EE will be the first to start rolling out the 5G network, any ideas when that will be ? Will all next years phone releases all be 5G capable ?

Let's say a lot of people jump to 5G which they'll probably do as most people like the latest tech, it got me thinking. would 4G speeds then increase and become more reliable as the 4G network will be less busy with people having jumped ship to 5G ?

MrRockliffe · 19 Nov 2018 at 09:38

The main focus on 5G, from the people developing it (at least, the guys at the 5G dev centre at Surrey uni), is the lower latency, not the throughput

This opens up a world of possibilities

Terminal_Boy · 19 Nov 2018 at 09:48

4G is quite capable of delivering DL speeds that would eat your monthly data allowance in seconds already with with 5CA and 4x4 MIMO.

5G is a solution to a problem nobody has, unless you count Huawei not not selling enough infrastructure elements.

It starts with LAA which is just the opportunistic use of the unlicensed 5GHz WiFi spectrum to provide additional DL channels which no carrier should need unless their 4G rollout was poor such as Telefonica O2 UK.

The next part is using the 20-30GHz band for very high data speeds. The problem with this band is that it only propagates over a few hundred metres and it’ll cost carriers billions that they didn’t need to spend.

GMac11 · 19 Nov 2018 at 09:54

EE released a list of 6(?) cities that will get the rollout in the middle of next year with a view to rolling out to more cities by end of 2019. EE themselves also said they expect customers would be prepared to pay a little extra for it so expect it to be bloody expensive. I honestly wouldn't expect a nationwide rollout until 2020.
The other thing is, for general use, how fast does a mobile network need to be? Currently the limiting factor on most mobile phones when browsing the web is the hardware itself although downloads will clearly improve. There was a worry when 4G came in that people could burn through their data in 30 minutes or something like that but data plans rose dramatically from around 2gb to 40 or 50gb - we're even seeing 100gb now. I wouldn't even use 100gb per month on my home fibre!
I hope that in the future (I'm not sure if even 5G is there yet) that fixed line phone lines/broadband will effectively be obsolete.

Terminal_Boy · 19 Nov 2018 at 10:13

People have been saying mobile comms will kill off fixed lines since TACS (UK 1G) was launched. While it might reduce fixed line use, businesses and rural areas will always need fixed lines whether they be copper or optical fibre.

The Matrix · 19 Nov 2018 at 10:45

If you were buying a new phone, would you hold off and wait till the 5G capable phones come out newxt year ? With the current price of phones it seems a lot of money to spend on a phone now which won't be capable of being used on the new 5G network, it seems sensible to wait and see what comes out next year.

xb8browney · 19 Nov 2018 at 10:47

I've seen speed of 1Gbps quoted. I can reach 140Mbps on EE 4G currently.

Janesy B · 19 Nov 2018 at 10:49

The Matrix said:
Does 5G basically mean that you'll use up your monthly data allowance in 5 seconds ?

Seriously though, what kind of speeds can we expect on a mobile phone with 5G, i maybe wrong but i believe EE will be the first to start rolling out the 5G network, any ideas when that will be ? Will all next years phone releases all be 5G capable ?

Let's say a lot of people jump to 5G which they'll probably do as most people like the latest tech, it got me thinking. would 4G speeds then increase and become more reliable as the 4G network will be less busy with people having jumped ship to 5G ?

Faster speeds won't make you download more data?

PiKe · 19 Nov 2018 at 10:53

I thought 5G was meant to mean the end of fixed line broadband?

The Matrix · 19 Nov 2018 at 10:56

Janesy B said:
Faster speeds won't make you download more data?

Faster speeds would encourage you to use your phone more and download more, it would with me anyway.

glenimp617 · 19 Nov 2018 at 11:14

Janesy B said:
Faster speeds won't make you download more data?

Yes it would. Last month I was testing a new RDS system at work and used my personal 4g connection for it. Whilst I was on lunch I forgot to switch it off. Hence a nice £30 bill added to my account. If this was on 5g, I would have used a considerable amount more in that hour meaning a huge bill. Silly me didn't have a data cap on lol

Janesy B · 19 Nov 2018 at 13:51

Not a typical usage case though. I get 140Mbps sometimes with EE and don't feel the need to download everything. I doubt gigabit speeds will be used for mobiles, they'll use smaller channel sizes to save frequency and make companies stump up big time for 1gbps fixed access.

krooton · 19 Nov 2018 at 15:41

TheOracle said:
Yes it would. Last month I was testing a new RDS system at work and used my personal 4g connection for it. Whilst I was on lunch I forgot to switch it off. Hence a nice £30 bill added to my account. If this was on 5g, I would have used a considerable amount more in that hour meaning a huge bill. Silly me didn't have a data cap on lol

That is a very specific case, you will only download what you want to download, it's not like when I connect my phone to my 1Gbps fibre it starts to download more than when I am on 4g.

glenimp617 · 19 Nov 2018 at 15:42

krooton said:
That is a very specific case, you will only download what you want to download, it's not like when I connect my phone to my 1Gbps fibre it starts to download more than when I am on 4g.

No that's true lol