Is 5G Worth It Right Now or Not? » The Unclouded Path

With holiday shopping just around the corner, you might be looking for a new smartphone. And with the prices of smartphones these days, you’re probably going to want to use for a while before you upgrade to another model. So, it’s best that you future-proof it (as much as you can with a smartphone anyway) by getting one with the latest technologies. One of these is 5G, and it promises huge data transfer speeds. But is 5G worth it right now? Here’s what to know about one of the latest, and possibly game-changing, mobile technologies.

What is 5G?

5G follows 4G as the fifth-generation cellular network technology. It’s in the early development phase right now, but early tests show that it’s capable of delivering revolutionary data transfer speeds on the order of gigabits/s. For reference, that kind of speed would allow you to download full movies in seconds.

Currently, 5G is split into 2 frequency bands. The first band (FR 1) is 100 MHz wide and uses frequencies under 6 GHz. For now, the most commonly used frequency for FR 1 is around 3.5 GHz. This band is only slightly faster than 4G LTE at best, especially with 4G LTE speeds improving. The second band (FR 2) is between 50 and 500 MHz wide and uses frequencies over 24 GHz. FR 2, sometimes referred to as millimeter wave (mmWave) because its wavelength is about a millimeter or less, is the one that gives you the crazy speeds.

Using higher frequencies allows both faster speeds and more devices connected to the network. That’s why many envision its use as a vast improvement for the Internet of Things (smart devices connected to the Internet) and for mobile networks in general.

Drawbacks of Current 5G Networks and Smartphones

What could be bad about huge data transfer speeds? Well as it turns out, there are a number of drawbacks to 5G right now that make it not worth it. Some of these have to do with the fact that 5G is still in the early development phase, while others have to do with the properties of the technology itself. All of them could factor into whether 5G is worth it for you right now.

Early Technology

The current 5G network is built upon improvements to the 4G LTE network instead of rendering it obsolete outright. For example, uploads still use 4G LTE. Also, for current US 5G networks, a device needs to establish a 4G connection “handshake” first before being transferred to the 5G network. This is a non-standalone network. Later standalone networks will be able to connect straight to 5G, but that could take a few years. 4G LTE will remain an important foundation for many years to come.

In addition, as with many new technologies in their early phase, there are plenty of incompatibilities. The various carriers currently all use their own frequencies for their own 5G networks. This means 5G phones are going to be carrier-specific (locked). For example, Samsung’s Galaxy S10 5G phone has a different version for every carrier (no unlocked version of the phone available as of this writing). So if you want to switch carriers, you’re going to have to buy another phone, and they aren’t cheap.

Early Hardware

Likewise, the hardware for 5G phones is also in its infancy. One example that’s especially notable is the modem. Current 5G phones use the Qualcomm Snapdragon X50 modem to connect to 5G. But this modem can only connect to 5G, meaning it needs another modem to connect to 4G. Having two modems at once drains extra power and costs more money. The upcoming Snapdragon X55 modem can connect to both 4G and 5G, so you should at least wait for phones that have it. The X55 also allows for unlocked phones since it can connect to all the various carriers’ planned 5G networks, unlike the X50. Later down the line (around 2020), Qualcomm is planning to release a new processor that integrates the X55’s capabilities, leading to even more efficient use of hardware.

The hardware for processing all that data at such high speeds is also not quite ready yet. Some testers reported that their phones overheated easily when trying to download stuff using 5G. When that happened, their phones switched to 4G. One tester fixed the problem using an ice cooler. But seriously, if you need to cool your phone off that much, something’s not right.

Coverage

Being a new development, 5G coverage is understandably spotty. But one of the reasons why it will remain spotty for years to come is because of the inherent properties of electromagnetic (EM) waves.

The higher the frequency of an EM wave (shorter wavelength), the lower its ability to pass through things. The mmWave used for FR 2 is high enough frequency that it has trouble passing through solid objects like trees, walls, and even windows. One tester even found it having trouble passing through himself. He simply turned around (facing away from a 5G tower), and his download speed went down by a factor of 4. Even if you have an unobstructed path to the 5G tower (line-of-sight), the maximum range is only about 500 m. It pretty much means that for the time being, you have to be outside, have line-of-sight, and be close to a 5G tower to actually access FR 2 5G.

The FR 1 version of 5G has much better coverage due to its longer wavelength. but even this network is spotty for now. It’ll take time for carriers to build up the infrastructure for these networks. Until then, 5G definitely won’t be worth it because you won’t even be able to connect to it most of the time.

Price

All that extra hardware for 5G connectivity doesn’t come cheap. Most 5G-capable phones right now cost over $1000. Not only that, you have to pay for pricey data plans to actually make use of that 5G connectivity. Setting up the new 5G network, not to mention actually buying the specific bands from the government, costs a lot of money. After all, due to the short-range problems of mmWave, it pretty much requires that a 5G tower be present on the corner of every block for proper coverage. For interior spaces like malls, you might need even more. So, you can expect companies are going charge a premium for 5G service for a while to get their investment back.

Interference

It’s not obvious, but 5G networks also have the potential to mess up weather forecasts. Remember how the FR 2 band starts at 24 GHz? Well, it’s extremely close to 23.8 GHz, the frequency of the faint signal water vapor in the atmosphere gives off. Other frequencies in the FR 2 band that are useful to meteorologists are 36-37 GHz (rain and snow), 50.2-50.4 GHz (atmospheric temperature), and 80-90 GHz (clouds and ice). Similar to how light pollution drowns out the stars, 5G signals near these frequencies can drown out the signals from these objects. Scientists estimate that the data loss from 5G interference could be about 30-77%, making weather forecasts much less reliable. It remains unknown how carriers will sort this problem out.

Conclusion

With all the promises of 5G, you should definitely pay attention to it. But 5G just isn’t worth it right now, especially if you’re just a regular consumer. The various problems associated with it in its current state really restrict it only to companies and developers looking to create technologies using 5G. If you’re one of them, then you should look into it. If not, then it’s best just to wait a few years while the technology matures and sorts out those problems. It’s just too expensive for too few benefits right now.

What if you need to get a phone now? In that case, it’s absolutely fine to get a 4G phone right now since 4G isn’t going away anytime soon, and its speed is improving. When you need an upgrade a few years down the line, 5G technology would have (hopefully) matured, giving you plenty of good, affordable choices for 5G phones.