In recent months, 5G cell phone service has been the target of many conspiracy theories, but what does 5G actually mean?
5G means that it is the fifth generation of cellular network technology, or the fifth major improvement to communicating between mobile phones.
The earliest mobile phones were invented by Bell Labs and AT&T in the 1940s. These operated based on radio technologies, meaning the speaker would have to hold a button to speak, and audio could only be sent in one direction at a time, so speaking over one another would cause neither party to hear the other one speak. These systems were very limited and could only be used by three phones at a time in a region.
Wireless phone calling as we know it today began in the early 1980s, with the first generation of cell phone service. This used frequency modulation to transmit audio, the same technology that is used to transmit FM radio stations. The analog technology, however, had a low quality and wasn’t very secure. In the 1990s then came the first digital cell phone service technologies, starting with the second generation, called 2G. Not only did this generation add encryption to phone calls, but it also introduced SMS and MMS messaging. By the end of the second generation, networks began adding the first mobile data services for internet access on the go.
In 1998, 3G improved on mobile data speeds to create the first generation of phone service that allowed for widespread mobile internet access. This was further improved on in 2008 with the first 4G phone networks. While 3G networks only used internet protocol (IP) for internet access, 4G networks use IP for messaging and voice data as well. 4G also allowed for internet speeds 500 times that of most 3G networks, and were created in such a way to adjust themselves to local user demand. In 2009, the year after 4G networks began being implemented, mobile internet usage surpassed calling usage.
The recent news has been the rollout of the latest generation of phone service by some of the major phone carriers in the United States. This generation, called 5G, uses shorter wavelength signals sent at a higher radio frequency to potentially allow for faster data transmission. Despite that, not all 5G service is the same, and it is split into three bands to describe the differences. Low-band 5G service won’t seem much different to a user than 4G service, but fewer cell towers are needed, as one could serve more customers and at higher distances. Mid-band 5G service is what phone carriers are implementing in major cities. This offers internet access at speeds comparable to a high-end wired internet connection. Finally is high-band 5G, which allows for much higher data transfer rates, but is easily blocked by obstacles, requiring devices using it to be near the source of the signal.
While 5G is currently just being implemented by phone carriers as a faster version of 4G phone service, the speeds made available could even influence an entirely new paradigm of internet usage
