5G is definitely faster than 4G? The first batch of users say so!

On the evening of April 3, South Korea became the first country in the world to launch a general 5G network, one hour ahead of the United States.

In a sense, this "world's first" is just an empty title, because it will take some time for 5G to be truly popularized. However, some people, like telecom operators and equipment manufacturers, can't wait to experience the legendary "speed" of 5G.

Judging from the current trial results, the debut of 5G network seems to be a bit of a flop.

At 11 p.m. on April 3, SK Telecom, South Korea's largest mobile network operator, launched its 5G network, with six celebrities as the first users. On April 5, ordinary mobile phone users could start connecting to 5G services. On the same day, Samsung released the Galaxy S10 5G phone, which is currently the only model in South Korea that can load 5G networks.

However, consumers are not very enthusiastic about 5G. According to the Nikkei News, at an SK Telecom business hall in Seoul, South Korea, a clerk said that only one user signed up for 5G service that day.

Image source: Photo Network

The Nikkei reporter tested three times with an app and found that the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G network speed was 193 megabits per second, while the 4G network speed of the Galaxy S9 released in 2018 was 47Mbps. Outdoors, the 5G speed was much faster, reaching an average of 430Mbps.

When using 5G to download a 1.9G game, the 4G network took 6 minutes and 28 seconds. 5G only took 1 minute and 51 seconds. Although it is much faster, it is far from the goal of "5G is 20 times faster than 4G".

However, a dramatic scene occurred. When users walked out of the store, 5G services frequently disconnected. When walking around Seoul with a 5G phone, the phone signal was displayed as 4G 30% of the time. When entering a subway station, it was difficult for the phone to search for a 5G signal; in the basement, the signal kept switching to 4G.

On the other side of the ocean, Jessica Dolcourt, editor of the technology website CNET, used words such as "frustrated", "confused" and "completely crazy" to describe her first 5G experience.

Verizon, the largest telecom operator in the United States, launched its 5G network in Chicago and Minneapolis, just one hour later than South Korea. Verizon used Motorola's Moto Z3 and 5G Moto Mod phones.

Jessica Dolcourt said that the 5G network is indeed incredibly fast, and you can download an album or a video in an instant. However, the network speed can sometimes reach 600Mbps, but sometimes it is only 200Mbps. Sometimes, the phone shows a 5G signal, but the speed is like 4G.

Jessica Dolcourt tested 5G speeds in different locations, and the speed was very unstable

Chris Welch, editor of another technology media The Verge, said that he stayed in Chicago for 18 hours and found it very difficult to find 5G network coverage in the entire city, and the signal was quite rare. Even if you are close to a 5G node, if you are near the doors and windows of a building, there is still 5G signal, but if you walk into the building or leave a few steps, the signal will disappear.

There is no 5G signal outside the Chicago Opera House (Image source: The Verge)

In places with 5G signals, data speeds are much faster than 4G LTE networks, averaging 400Mbps to 600Mbps, almost ten times faster than the iPhone XS Max. But upload speeds are slower than expected, at 20 to 30Mbps.

These problems are unavoidable when any new technology is just launched. Currently, although the 5G high-speed network is already running, it has not yet been officially completed , the stability is still insufficient, and 5G is still sharing infrastructure with 4G LTE.

Verizon seems a little dissatisfied with the reviews released by the two technology media. Mike Haberman, Verizon's vice president of network engineering, explained to CNBC: "The 5G mobile phone signal display is different from the past. Only when the user tries to use 5G will the phone show that it is connected to 5G. Therefore, even in the signal coverage area, the phone may not show the 5G signal icon."

Just like the first few years of 4G LTE, users also experienced the same capacity problems, such as mobile phones being disconnected in crowded stadiums. But Mike Haberman confidently said that 5G will not have such problems. Moreover, mobile phones are just the first step. In the future, urban lights, cameras, air pollution detectors and other terminals will be connected to the Internet.

According to 21st Century Business Herald, on April 3, Yu Yingtao, co-president of Tsinghua Unigroup, said that 5G is a high-frequency network, so its penetration ability is very poor, and basically indoor coverage depends on 5G small base stations. The biggest difference between 5G and 3G and 4G is that 80% of the applications of the latter are reflected in the personal terminal level, such as mobile phones and PADs, but 5G may be the opposite, and 80% of the applications will be reflected in the ToB field and in the vertical industry field.

Compared with 4G, 5G has lower latency, larger bandwidth, more connections, and better high-speed mobile capabilities.

However, it will take time and huge capital investment for 5G to eventually reach such capacity and realize smart cities where everything is connected.

According to estimates by the three major domestic operators, the total investment in 5G will exceed 2 trillion yuan, not including other investments in the development of 5G applications. The entire 5G construction will be an investment of 10 trillion or 20 trillion yuan, which will also play a huge role in boosting the entire social economy.

Source: National Business Daily. If copyright is involved, please contact us to delete.

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