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The Disappointment of 5G

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Re: The Disappointment of 5G

#81

Post by malshe »

lupire wrote: post #46

I don't think OP is wrong , but it more of a rambling comment than an article. To understand what's going on, we need equivalent of table of 5G spec features, with columns for: * what use case the feature enables for users * how widely the feature is implemented, * what extra cost it would could incur to include the feature in a device or connection. The article says that "extra speed is wasted" but also says that it…

I had the same feeling after reading the article. I think the problem is in writing. For example, consider these two lines:

Cellular customers are generally pleased that speeds have increased since this means stronger coverage indoors and in outdoor dead spots. But surveys have shown that only a minuscule percentage of people are willing to pay more for faster cellular speeds.

So people are generally happy because of the faster speeds of 5G, which is a statement about the technology. The next line is about its affordability, which does not negate the fact that people are happy about the high speeds. That "But" in the second line threw me off a bit.

Re: The Disappointment of 5G

#82

Post by efields »

If tech hype is more or less marketing + effective PR (tons of articles and blog post written about said tech), I've felt this author's sentiment toward the hype viz. reality of 5G with AR/VR, blockchain, and the current wave of AI as well.

So much of the 2010's internet UX is fully baked. We can communicate with voice, audio and video with the world from anywhere on cheap pocket devices. It would be harder to make this any more frictionless without some sort of new HCI paradigm. We've got wireless comms going wherever it made commercial sense, "enabling" workers to get directives and do business from their morning commutes. You can shop from the toilet.

You can also make original music in the palm of your hand for the cost of a used iPhone.

What I'm getting at is the digital revolution is here if not already over. We're in our cyberpunk future already, but surprise humans don't need too much to be absolutely sated if not overwhelmed by technology and I don't think they're itching for more of it. The business of selling tech right now is hard because so many of the jobs are _done_. All that you can do is generate hype.

I don't doubt I'm missing some of the forest through the hype trees here, but tech in the 2020's has a lot to prove to me.

Re: The Disappointment of 5G

#83

Post by martinald »

Crosseye_Jack wrote: post #58
fsh wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could do that with LTE a decade ago. It is more than fast enough for 4K video streaming, and typical latencies are below 50 ms. Most users would not notice any difference between LTE and 5G.

As someone who just went though a 3 month battle is one of the major ISP's in the UK to get a family members property connected I can suggest 1 big thing that many customers will notice a differnce between LTE and 5G. Gaming. First games are getting huge, so the extra speed is always a bonus for getting the title downloaded faster. At the family members property inquestion their old fixed line boardband connection wa…

LTE latency is fine for gaming. 20-30ms, very similar to DOCSIS cable broadband.

The problem isn't LTE, it's that the LTE tower you are/were connected to is congested, so latency starts rising.

The exact same thing happens on 5G, though there is more capacity & fewer users on it right now. Congestion is starting to build everywhere on 5G in the UK. I imagine in a year or twos time performance will be pretty average on 5G in most places.

Re: The Disappointment of 5G

#84

Post by tuatoru »

5G was really all about software-defined cell sites, reconfigurable remotely.

It was designed to save costs for network operators. Of course they couldn't market that: customers would expect cheaper plans.

Hence the hype cycle.

Re: The Disappointment of 5G

#85

Post by t43562 »

In the UK whenever I go to some public event - e.g. some of the anti-Brexit marches or something like the Fully Charged EV show or any other big event I start to have trouble connecting and when I am able to move away from the crowd far enough I can use my phone again.

This is dangerous - when you're in a crowd you need your phone more to be able to find out what's happening and where your friends or family are if you get separated.

So if 5G started to fix that I'd say it was an excellent thing.

Re: The Disappointment of 5G

#86

Post by dboreham »

WithinReason wrote: post #30
martinald wrote: post #9

Ignoring all the hype and BS, all the cell infrastructure really comes down to a battle between user bandwidth needs and available spectrum (multiplied by spectral efficiency and density of towers). Get this wrong and customer service tanks as cell sites get congestied. There are virtually no new applications enabled IMO with 5G speeds vs LTE speeds/latency, assuming they are both not congested. 100mbit/sec LTE with…

> There are virtually no new applications enabled IMO with 5G speeds vs LTE speeds/latency You can reasonably replace your home internet with 5G

> replace your home internet with 5G

Mr Shannon enters the chat..

Re: The Disappointment of 5G

#88

Post by GuB-42 »

> The introduction of the new spectrum has relieved the pressure on overloaded cell sites

That's all I expected from 5G. 4G is more than good enough for what I do with it, in fact, I can easily watch HD video and burn through my data plan at 3G (H+) speeds, I don't really need more.

The only thing is that I assume great signal and no congestion, which is far from what we get in practice. The only reason I want 5G, and even 4G is that I can get the equivalent of full 3G speed in places where I couldn't before.

Hopefully, it will also mean bigger data plans at an equivalent price with the extra bandwidth operators get.

Re: The Disappointment of 5G

#89

Post by thworp »

Does anyone here have any hands-on experience and can tell me if the claimed 5ms latency for 5G is anyhwere close to reality? As in, can it reach the 5ms only if you're next to the tower, are they not including processing time at the tower and modem etc.

Re: The Disappointment of 5G

#90

Post by runlaszlorun »

I used get high enough speeds from Tmobile that I didn’t bother with home internet.

Then again, I was literally living across the street from the AT&T world hq in Dallas. Coincedence?

Then again, that was only until I hit my GB cap.

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