A surge in mobile-data demand worldwide has more and more people asking when they’ll get that speedy next-generation 5G mobile service. Companies are wondering, too, since 5G has the potential to revolutionize everything from self-driving cars to robotic surgery. Mobile providers are racing to patent technologies that will form the industry standards and build working networks. Yet not all nations are embracing the push with equal vigor. And concerns about China’s ability to use 5G equipment to spy on other nations may limit its manufacturers’ ability to profit from the world’s next mobile upgrade.
1. What’s 5G?
5G simply stands for fifth-generation mobile networks or fifth-generation wireless systems. It will be the successor to 4G, the current top-of-the-line network technology first introduced commercially in 2009. 5G could end up being 100 times faster than 4G, with speeds that could reach 10 gigabits per second. This would allow a full-length high-definition movie to be downloaded in seconds. 5G will also increase transmission speed and total bandwidth, which will be needed to accommodate added demand from the “internet of things” — the ballooning number of objects ranging from refrigerators to traffic lights to dog collars sending and receiving data.
2. Is it being tested yet?
Yes. South Korea showed off the world’s first commercial use of 5G at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in February. China started trials in more than a dozen major cities this year. In the U.S., Verizon Communications Inc. will offer the first 5G internet and TV service in five cities — Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, and Sacramento, California — beginning Oct. 1. Verizon will provide the service via portable hot spots called pucks. These aren’t standard 5G gear, though Verizon says it will switch to standardized equipment when it becomes available. AT&T Inc. says it will be the first with a standards-based service; later this year it will test 5G devices in Atlanta, Dallas, Waco, Texas, and two North Carolina cities, Charlotte and Raleigh. None of the real-world rollouts include 5G mobile phone service, since its high-frequency radio signals are easily disrupted by rain and foliage. But there are signs of progress: On Sept. 6 Verizon and Nokia Oyj announced the first over-the-air transmission of data on a 5G New Radio network.
3. What else needs to be done to get full 5G service?
Plenty. First, providers need a final set of technology standards. The global body setting them, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project, released the first 5G specifications in June; the next set of standards is due in 2020. (The 3GPP, a collaboration between seven telecommunications organizations, also set standards for 3G and 4G LTE mobile systems.) 5G mobile tests also need special handsets, transmission hardware and software and a system design that doesn’t interfere with 4G and 3G networks. And governments need to set aside mobile spectrum space for 5G.
4. Is this under way?
The equipment is being built. China’s Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. says it has about 50 contracts with wireless carriers to test its equipment. Nokia and Ericsson AB each have $3.5 billion contracts with T-Mobile US Inc. Some telecommunication companies are looking to join forces to provide more money and reach to develop 5G networks. In the U.S., T-Mobile and Sprint Corp. hope that the enormous costs of 5G will help encourage the U.S. government to approve their merger. Two of China’s three wireless carriers are also said to be exploring a merger.
5. What about the spectrum?
Some nations have begun to make airwaves available. South Korea finished auctioning off airways for 5G in June; it expects telecommunication providers to begin using it by the end of the year. Italy auctioned off specific spectrum on Sept. 11; the U.S. has set its 5G spectrum auction for November. But China hasn’t yet allotted any commercial licenses for 5G spectrum, clouding its rollout timeline. And some nations, like India, are holding back for now, waiting until the technology is well established and handset prices come down.