Why 5G's Future Depends on Spectrum Access | WSJ

NOTE TO VIEWERS: In Chicago, Verizon download speeds reached a maximum above one gigabit per second, and median speeds in South Korea exceeded those in the U.S. The video above incorrectly says Chicago speeds maxed out above one gigabyte per second, and represents the median speeds in megabytes instead of megabits.

In the global race for 5G, U.S. telecom firms have a unique disadvantage: limited access to the “goldilocks” band of radio frequencies. That's pushing U.S. firms toward a less practical version of 5G. WSJ explains the science and its implications.

Illustration by Carlos Waters / The Wall Street Journal

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[winstonalf]

Meanwhile huwawei in Switzerland rolled out 5g at a whopping 3.67GB per second. In many cities across Switzerland.

[kahchon]

When 10G is launched, you need a wired mobile phone, because your phone has to stay close to the tower within 2cm, so might as well you plug your cable with your phone and the tower

[Palestineexists]

3:50 Ajit Pai, the same guy who struck down net neutrality 🙄

[trickdawg]

My takeaway from this is that the military is hogging up the available spectrum, thus giving China the advantage to beat us technologically then economically then militaryly.

[chandanpuri]

Yeah, we should totally be selling more long term leases on spectrum to whoever is able to pay the most right now. That definitely doesn't support monopolies. It also definitely doesn't lead to the misuse of a public resource for private gain. Maybe we could allocate spectrum based on the greatest benefit to you know... citizens. And reallocate as often and be geographically specific as possible.

[CannabisTechLife]

that's why I haven't shelled out for an expensive 5G phone. Even in Chicago it would be spotty and 4G is fast enough for daily usage while we wait for 5G to actually grow to a usable front.

[tubastud]

Hey WSJ - Learn the difference between gigabit and gigabyte. 1.1 GigaBYTES per second is 8.8 GigaBITS per second. Internet speeds are rated in BITS per second; ISP measure how many bits per second they can send you.

[gusparaguss]

Yes, thank you! This is the first video on 5G that has acknowledged sub-millimeter wave 5G tech

[christophernorton]

Don, t worry about the headaches insomnia & increased risk of cancer just to mention a few of the benefits of 5G at least you will be able to download your favorite movie in no time .you may just live long enough to watch the credits at the end .

[MatthewStinar]

1. Stop hiring people from anti-consumer oligopolists to run the FCC.
2. Eliminate spectrum auctions in favor of prioritizing public benefit.
3. Cancel spectrum monopolies controlled by corporations wherever communications technologies permit spectrum sharing.
4. Make the communications protocol development process open and public, permitting all the world's greatest minds to participate and regarding the public benefit as the principal constituent.

[flyingblogger]

Note they do not talk about the exposure/health issues. Europe is way ahead on the problem and knows communications system should be wired and grounded. How do those driveless cars protect the occupants from excessive levels of radiation? The people rolling these out on the public are sick sociopaths.

[cmdr]

I work in the oil and gas fields in OH, WV and PA. It is so rural out here. We just got 4G coverage in most areas. 5G is far from a selling point for me. It isn't where I need it to be and Wifi covers my house. What add the cost.

[Yellow_Afryca]

Who cares, on the current bands when you hit your data cap your throttled to slower than what’s usable currently.

[joshbennett]

This may explain the trumpet sounds people were hearing.

[GarryReyom]

It’s funny how certain radio frequencies are illegal to use even though access doesn’t cause any harm. This planet is a prison planet.

[EARTHDOG]

Going be interesting watching this turn into a lawyer's wet dream.

[ricardoelectronicsrepair]

in my place Indonesia, there is no military or science demand on midband, so mid band 5g is possible but not expected to come before 2025.

[jameszhou]

The issue was discussed 3 years ago as US military clogged most high and medium bands and refused to move out of them. Commercial uses took a back seat. So rollout of current 5G radio frequency is way too expensive and not making any sense

[wingsaseagles]

Largest problem with using the higher frequency bands is rain fade. Rain fade is caused because the frequency wavelength is so short that a raindrop in the air can actually shorts it out. The US military submarines use what they call extra low-frequency to transmit information or elf these frequencies are that long that even if the submarine is submerged underwater it can still receive radio Transmissions. This comes at a price because it is an extremely slow transmission speed.

[seancashin]

This is like the least of 5G's problems