Recently, the federal government approved the use of 5G. But many people didn’t know how to react to that announcement because they know next to nothing about 5G. Daily Trust on Sunday seeks to analyse what the fifth-generation wireless connectivity is all about: the difference between 4G and 5G, the difference between bits and bytes, why China may have an edge to win the AI war, why countries such as the UK, Japan and Australia banned Huawei equipment, what 5G means for us as individuals, our businesses and our country.
What is 5G?
It is so-called because it is the fifth-generation of wireless networking technology. When the first generation rolled-in in the 1970s and 80s, it was deployed on analog. So, anyone could listen in on calls. The coming of 2G in the 90s changed that situation because it was run on digital devices which enabled encryptions of calls. The third generation came in the early 2000s and now, many cities and towns in Nigeria have access to 4G or LTE.
The hunger for speed
Many would argue that the hype about 5G is mostly about the promise of speed. At least, the comparison between 4G and 5G can be understood in that direction. 5G promises to bring connectivity speed of up to 10 gigabits per second to your phone. That is at least 600 times faster than the 4G connection on your phone. The is fast enough to stream several movies at the same time or download 4K high-definition movie in 25 seconds. Yes, in half a minute.
The need for speed
We humans are eager to make our lives easier, safer and healthier. To do that, we need machines to talk to themselves. For machines to talk to one another, they need high speed, low latency connections. And the fifth-generation wireless technology solves this problem. Indeed, in the last 30 years, people connected with one another but in the next 30 years, machines will connect with other machines. For example, vehicles can have conversations with themselves in the manner that a Mercedes can say “Careful, Mr Camry! I’m on your left.”
Bits and bytes
Have you noticed that all the internet connectivity speed is measured in bits? Yes, there is bit and there is byte. They measure different things. On the one hand, bits (articulated the way it is spelt) measures transfer speed. That is why MTN for example, may promise you speed of 2Mbps (2 megabits per second). On the other hand, storage space or capacity is measured in bytes (pronounced bites). That is why your hard disk is 500 Gigabytes.
Opportunities?
If 5G can yield the speed it promises and devices always stay connected, that would enable the things many have been dreaming of and many things we have not yet thought of. For example, it would make self-driving cars better and reduce accidents on the roads because most accidents are due to human error. Therefore, you can take away that burden from humans. 5G will also improve telemedicine in such a way that a surgery can be performed on a patient thousands of miles away. It will also substantially strengthen the internet of things or IoT where you can talk to your gates that you are coming home and your gates will talk with your bath tub to draw hot water for you because you need to wash away all the stress.
What does it mean for you?
5G may take a while to be common in Nigeria. Even in the US, as of 2020, some companies could only reach about 35 cities with their 5G. I remember how 4G was introduced to Nigeria by our telecom companies. One advert said something similar to “you can access it at the fifth floor of Merit House.”
Globacom’s 4G just got to my hometown, Bida, a few months ago. My house in Minna still doesn’t have GLO’s 4G.
Perceived link with COVID-19 and cancer
There is scant evidence that 5G is linked to COVID-19 or cancer. This is a radio wave – which we encounter throughout our day. So, 5G appears to be safe.
Cyber Security challenges
The threat of a data breach always exists. Whether what is being hacked is a new or old technology. That is why the field of cyber security wouldn’t go away any time soon. So, 5G may also come with its own vulnerabilities which will be quickly patched by experts.
What is the fight about?
Countries have the perception that whoever leads in 5G will have more connected devices and anyone with more connected devices will generate more data. Finally, the country with more data could win the AI (artificial intelligence) war. Why? Because machine learning (ML), a substantial component of AI, depends on data – a lot of data.
It then follows that the more developed 5G country will lead others. Also, there is the fear of surveillance. Huawei, the China affiliated company seems to have an edge in that respect. That is why Australia, UK, Japan, Taiwan and so forth have banned Huawei network devices.
Important Jargons
The Spectrum
This is the spectrum of all radio wave frequencies starting from the low end, 3kHz to the extreme end, 300GHz. Our NCC allocates and regulates the ownership of the ranges or bands so that the frequencies wouldn’t interfere with one another.
Low-Band Frequencies
These are bands below 1GHz and used by radio and television stations and mobile networks. They can cover large distances and travel through walls.
Mid-Band Spectrum
Experts call this the sweet spot. This range extends from 1 GHz to 6. It is used by Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and mobile networks. Carriers like it because it has lots of bandwidth and is not as problematic as the next one: mmWave.
-Millimeter Wave or mmWave
This wireless spectrum is from above 24 or 30 GHz. It offers huge bandwidth; telecom companies can achieve faster speeds with this but the signals are not very liable. 5G networks use this.
In sum, 5G is good for us. What is your role in all this? Pressure the Nigerian government for the proper implementation. In the meantime, enjoy your 4G. That is if you have it in the village.
