5G is the fifth generation of mobile networks, which aims to provide faster data speeds, lower latency, and more reliable connectivity. While 5G technology promises to transform industries, there is also a lot of debate about its potential benefits and drawbacks. In this article, we will explore all you need to know about the 5G network and whether it is good or bad.
On the positive side, 5G is expected to revolutionize the way we live and work, with faster download and upload speeds, improved connectivity, and reduced latency. This technology will enable new applications and services such as virtual reality, autonomous vehicles, smart cities, and much more. It will also enhance existing services, such as video streaming, online gaming, and video conferencing, by offering higher quality and smoother experiences.
However, there are also concerns about the potential negative effects of 5G. One of the main concerns is the impact of 5G electromagnetic radiation on human health. While there is no conclusive evidence yet, some studies have suggested that prolonged exposure to high-frequency electromagnetic radiation could cause adverse health effects. Another concern is the potential for 5G to disrupt weather forecasting by interfering with the frequency bands used by meteorologists to track weather patterns.
In addition to these concerns, there are also issues related to privacy and security. As more devices become connected to the 5G network, there is a greater risk of cyber attacks, which could compromise personal information and sensitive data. There is also a concern that governments and private companies could use 5G technology to spy on citizens or manipulate data for their own purposes.
All you Need to Know about 5G
In this blog, you will get to know all about 5G. And I’ll also tell you which 5G phone you should buy.
So, could you wait for it? But first, let’s know some essential things about 5G.
- 5G has been available worldwide since 2018-19. But it came to India in 2022. It’s only been 1-1.5 months since its launch.
- Airtel already has one million+ subscriber of 5G. Jio might have more than that, such as 4-5 million.
- People have started using 5G but remember that India’s millimeter wave has yet to arrive. It is all sub-6GHz.
Now, what does this mean?
There are many bands, like less than 1GHz. They’re known as Sub-1GHz. Such as 700MHz, 800MHz. And this 5G spectrum is currently only with Jio.
Airtel has from 1GHz-6Ghz; they’re called the Mid-Bands spectrum. The High-Bands are for commercial use, so we’ll not discuss that.
Let us discuss important things about the bands. So, after this decision according to which smartphones to buy and which bands they support.
- But, if we talk about the Sub-1GHz, they have an advantage. They have colossal Coverage! Even in the basement, you’ll get the speed for talking clearly.
- In Mid-Bands, you get more speeds, but the Coverage is less. So if a phone supports Mid-Bands but doesn’t have lower bands, i.e., Sub-1GHz, and if you’re in a basement, you might get some trouble with speeds or audio.
Now, are there any differences between Bands & Frequency? Or is there a relation?
-Yes, to a certain extent.
For example, the frequencies under 1GHz have four bands in them. n5, n8, n20, n28. All these bands are under 1GHz. But if I talk specifically about Jio, they use n28. So, whichever smartphone will support this n28 band, and you go to the basement, which has walls; even then, you’ll get good Coverage.
At the same time, if you have a phone with Mid-Bands like n77 or n78 and if you take this phone with no n28 support, you won’t get such good Coverage.
The low bands, i.e., Sub-1GHz, have one more advantage. The advantage is that it swiftly switches from one network to another when you travel fast from one city to another. So you can find a connection in the new town easily.
In roaming, it is a significant advantage.
5G infrastructure
Now, let’s talk about the 5G infrastructure. Now, when we say infrastructure, it means there are different networks.
We don’t know about VI in India, but Airtel & Idea have brought 5G. But the infrastructure of 5G in Airtel has been built on top of 4G.
What it means is that you’re getting 5G from the 4G towers. That is why they’re called Non-Standalone.
But Jio has built its 5G infrastructure from the ground up.
So, they have a Standalone.
If I tell you in simple language, then Airtel is 4G+++.
Whereas, Jio is a real 5G since it is Standalone.
Comparison of speed
And all this is proved with OOKLA’s new report. The speeds of Jio go above 600-800MBps. Whereas talking about Airtel, their 5G speed goes from 350MBps to 550MBps.
So, the speed is good on the standalone network. Overall, if we have to recommend a mobile network to you, it’ll be a Standalone network.
But we need to remember that speed is not everything. Do you know what’s happening nowadays? Many people have got 5G. They run the speed test and get to 1GBps. But in hardly 10-15 seconds, their 500-600MB data get finished.
So, there are a few disadvantages to having more speed. That is what you should know.
When one should get 5G
Now, you might ask, “when am I getting 5G?” Now only the Metros have gotten 5G. Nowadays, 60-70 Cr. people use smartphones, more or less than that. But less than 1Cr. People have 5G.
- Jio has said that their pan-India Coverage will be completed by Dec 2023.
- At the same time, Airtel is going to go till 2024.
We already discussed the 4 bands in low Sub-1GHz bands.
There are 6 bands in Mid-Bands.
So, there should be ten bands that are supported by a smartphone.
If we talk about the Mid-bands, they are n1, n3, n40, n41, n77, and n78. They’re important now. If I talk about the mobile network supporting the Mid-bands, then both Airtel & Jio support n77 & n78.
So, if your phone doesn’t have 10,11,12 bands but n28, n77, and n78 are the most important ones in Indian conditions for an Indian smartphone. n28, n77, and n78 are the three most important bands. They should be in your phone.
Which 5G phones to get?
Now, let’s talk about phones. It’s essential since there are different phones which support various bands; some phones have other connectivity, some have carrier aggregation, some have 2X2 or 4X4 MIMO, and some have regular single-band connectivity. So, knowing about this is essential, too. When you’re buying a 5G smartphone, having this knowledge is necessary. Why don’t we do this?
We have many 5G phones, around 15-20 recently launched. Let’s talk about them. We did an extensive study with various brands. It was about which phone gives the most connectivity and bands and which is the best.
Overall, I like one thing if we talk about all the brands. The brands are collectively & efficiently working with the networks. If I talk about the phones like Samsung, POCO & Redmi.
They are good because they generally have the support of 7-9 bands from total 10 bands. So, 90% of the time, all bands are covered, even making it future-proof.
Right now, there are only three crucial bands: n77, n78, & n28. So, if Vi brings any new band in the future or even Jio gives you 5G internet, then it’ll support that, too.
But there is one brand that stands out, in my opinion, and that is Motorola. We saw all of their phones. They are supporting all the bands in India in the present or who will be coming in the future.
If you take any recently launched phone, they keep at least 12-13 bands. Some bands will benefit you even when you travel internationally.
There are 10 bands in India, but in foreign countries, there are more. Remember that if you travel internationally more and you want 5G there, not only these 10 bands but wherever you travel, you want the support of that country’s bands. On that matter, I’ll say Motorola phones stand out.
One more thing which I like. The budget-range phones of other brands costing around ₹10k-15k, support fewer bands. The flagship level has more bands’ support.
Talking about Motorola,
Their phones start literally from ₹11.5k-12k. And go all the way up to ₹50k-60k, like their Edge series. All of them get the support of 12-13 bands.
So, we must give a big thumbs up to Motorola in that sense. Let’s talk about one more thing because we’re just at the start. It often happens that your phone supports 5G, but there is no 5G available.
There is a reason; they’re locked. They need a software update.
For example, iPhones. It’s been 1 month since the 5G launch, but still, there needs to be 5G on iPhones because they need a software update. So, all the brands need to release a software update.
Samsung, in this matter, is excellent since they are giving updates. Immediately your phone will support as and when the 5G network comes.
Let’s quickly talk about 2-3 phones that stand out.
Motorola has good connectivity since there is carrier aggregation.
So, if you want a phone under ₹15k,
- We’ll recommend an all-rounder phone, the G51.
- If you can extend your budget, then their G62 is really good, too. Its display is much better, so you can look at that.
If I talk about the phones under ₹25k, there are 2 phones.
- Moto G82 is good &
- Redmi K50i is similar.
So, you know, you can look at both of them.
Remember that these are 5G phone recommendations.
Under ₹30k,
- Motorola’s Moto Edge 30 or even
- OPPO’s Reno8, you can look at them.
- Talking about POCO, its POCO F4 is pretty good, too.
Talking about the premium range, between ₹30k-40k,
- there’s the Moto Edge 30 Fusion &
- Moto Edge 30 Ultra. It’s in the price range of around ₹40k.
Generally, all brands’ phones in the premium range support more bands. So, there you’ll not go too wrong.
Finally, there’s a question that people often ask :-
“Now that 5G is here, will 4G go away?”
“Should we even buy 4G phones anymore?”
- No, 4G will be here for the next 3-4 years. So, if you don’t need speed, you can also look at 4G phones.
- By the way, if you’ve bought a 5G phone, then you might’ve gotten to know that the Motorola’s phones are good for 5G.
- In fact, Motorola has the phrase ‘ROCKS’ where they talk about 5G connectivity.
ROCKS is a short form for Reliable, Optimized, Coverage, Killer speeds, & Security.
All these things are in the phones, that’s why the brand says: ROCKS. So why reliable, you ask? Since it has Carrier Aggregation, 4X4 MIMO, & Voiceover NR or Voiceover 5G.
O is for Optimized.
Now, why optimized?
- Because when it switches from 4G to 5G, the battery is consumed more. But Motorola has optimized that. And we have talked about the Coverage. There is support for all the bands in low & mid bands. And Killer speeds are because there are low bands, for Coverage, & mid bands, for speeds.
And finally, there is a question for 5G:
- Can the SAR value be more than allowed?
- The Motorola phones were tested & they have SAR value within limits. And they have ‘ThinkShield’. So, on the matter of security, they’re good.
- And if you’ve bought a 5G phone and don’t know which bands your phone supports. Then you can visit their websites, like for Samsung, visit Samsung’s website. You can check it out there.
- For Motorola’s website you can visit Motorola’s website. You can check it out there. So, you can check which bands’ support is in your 5G phones.
What are recommendations, what is the 5G network, and only the 5G network is not important, the overall phone, its carrier aggregation, and all the other things are important, too.
And that’s why I made those recommendations as well. I hope this article was helpful to you in some way.
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Disclosure:-
Some of the links used in this article are affiliate links. i.e., if you sign up for their paid program or make a purchase, I will get a commission, at no extra cost to you. Please be rest assured that I only recommend software/ products I genuinely believe in and trust to be good for you too.