Sunday, December 6, 2020

5G Not Yet "Apples to Apples"

Unlike earlier mobile generations, 5G is not based on specific frequencies, as were prior mobile platforms. That being the case, performance hinges on which blocks of spectrum are used. Low-band provides the best coverage; millimeter wave the highest speeds; mid-band a compromise between coverage and speed.


That has to be kept in mind when taking a snapshot of evolving 5G network availability and performance between service providers and between countries: the comparisons are not “like to like” at this point. 


source: RootMetrics


South Korean mobile operators use mid-band spectrum, and therefore show higher speeds than does AT&T at the moment, which uses low-band spectrum. Over time, many operators using low-band or mid-band will add use of millimeter wave spectrum. 


So the blended performance might be more highly disparate than what we have been used to in the 3G and 4G eras. Capacity will be highest in areas where millimeter is available; lowest where only low-band is present. The preference for mid-band is its compromise of coverage and capacity. 


Beyond that are the usual differences between speed of deployment in small city-states and countries compared to very-large countries; the loading of 5G networks (heavier loading implies lower average speeds) and the balance of demand between 4G and 5G (average speeds including both 5G and default to 4G when 5G is not available). 


The point is that it will remain hard to compare deployments, which in turn are constantly changing in the early phases of 5G introduction.


No comments:

Post a Comment

Is Sora an "iPhone Moment?"

Sora is OpenAI’s new cutting-edge and possibly disruptive AI model that can generate realistic videos based on textual descriptions.  Perhap...