Up to 100 times faster than 4G, 5G, the fifth generation of cellular networks, is creating never-before-seen opportunities for people and businesses.
With faster connectivity speeds, ultra-low latency and greater bandwidth, 5G has the capacity to transform industries and dramatically enhance day-to-day experiences.
Unlike past historical transitions in wireless architecture, 5G represents an ongoing evolution of existing networks rather than the wholesale replacement or “forklift” approach to deployment.
It has been assessed that 5G technology could be responsible for 22.3 million jobs and $13.2 trillion of global economic output by 2035.
According to statista, 58 countries had 5G networks as of June 2021, up from 38 about a year ago. A dozen more have had 5G mobile technology deployed in part. It is in fact expected that 5G will reach 1 billion users in 3.5 years, compared with 4 years for 4G and 12 years for 3G.
South Korea, China, and the United States are the countries that lead the world in building and deploying 5G technology.
Telecommunications operators around the world—including AT&T Inc., KT Corp, and China Mobile—have been racing to build the fifth-generation (5G) of wireless technology.
As more devices connect to the Internet, the need for high-speed 5G networks becomes more critical.
Even smaller countries like Sweden, Turkey, and Estonia have taken significant steps to make 5G networks commercially available to their citizens.
The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Spectrum Frontiers Order laid the groundwork for the use of 5G technology in the United States. The next generation of technology provides a greater amount of spectrum for wireless communication, smaller sizes of wireless cells, and more modulation schemes, letting greater numbers of wireless users share the spectrum. 5G technology offers at least one gigabit per second for connection speeds, shorter delays than 4G technology, and millimeter-wave (mmW) bands for supporting applications requiring large capacity.
In July 2016, the FCC began creating rules for 5G technology, making the United States the first country opening a high-band spectrum for the technology. Because the spectrum bands are available for licensed, unlicensed, and shared users, more than four times the amount of spectrum is available for flexible use than in previous years. Also, 15 times more unlicensed spectrum is available for users than in previous years.
South Korea
South Korea is ahead of other countries in 5G deployment. The country has rolled out 5G to 85 cities as of Jan. 2020. Government officials estimate 90% of Korea’s mobile users will be on a 5G network by 2026. The key to South Korea’s success seems to stem from the collaboration of three carriers that have worked on 5G deployment: SK Telecom, LG Uplus, and KT Corp.
KT Corp (ADR) (KT) completed a successful trial of a system from NEC Corp. using extremely high frequencies for transmitting data at up to 3.2 Gbps (gigabits per second) in the Taebaek Mountains. NEC’s iPasolink EX ultra-compact microwave system links between LTE (long-term evolution) base stations to enable telecommunication, which is much easier than laying fiber for the links. The microwave system conveys data at frequencies of 70 to 80 GHz, which keeps more signal going through the air than other systems and uses a form of encoding that lets more data be transmitted.
South Africa
MTN, Africa’s largest mobile network operator, announced the launch of its 5G network in South Africa, with the initial deployment of 100 5G sites. The company has deployed 58 5G sites in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Bloemfontein using the 3.5 GHz band. Further, it has deployed 35 sites using spectrum in the 2100 and 1800 MHz bands. Additionally, it has deployed 5G sites on 2100 MHz in Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth. Lastly, MTN has deployed five 5G sites using 700 MHz spectrum in Port Alfred, Hopetown, Virginia Queenstown and Tsantsabane, while initial 5G coverage in Hatfield (Pretoria), Edenvale and Durban is provided via sites using the 28 GHz band.
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) allocated temporary spectrum to Vodacom, South Africa’s biggest mobile network operator, including one 50 MHz channel in the 3.5 GHz band. In May 2020, Vodacom launched a 5G mobile network in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town, which will support both mobile and fixed wireless services, and is currently available on 20 live 5G sites.
According to GSMA, 5G is inevitable in Sub-Saharan Africa. The advent of the 5G era in the region is a question of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’. This view is supported by the GSMA 5G Market Readiness Index and the GSMA Intelligence 5G in SSA Survey, with indications that some countries, such as South Africa and Kenya, are moving quickly towards a state of readiness, which will become evident nearer to 2025. However, the 5G era is not imminent for most markets as existing technologies are capable of supporting current use cases and demand for mobile internet connectivity.
According to GSMA, a global organisation that represents the worldwide mobile communications industry, outside Nigeria and South Africa, some 18 African countries have started testing 5G, including Lesotho, Gabon and Egypt. Given how few countries have officially launched the technology, GSMA posits widespread 5G adoption in sub-Saharan Africa “is inevitable but not imminent.”
As such, 5G rollout in Africa is expected to take place in fits and spurts in the next few years. Most markets in the region will be slow to pursue it, says GSMA, since “existing technologies are capable of supporting current use cases and demand for mobile internet connectivity.”
One of the biggest concerns, it says, that may prevent the mass adoption of 5G in sub-Saharan Africa is low mass penetration of previous cellular generations. 3G and 4G networks only overtook 2G in 2019.
There are also major gaps in coverage overall—a quarter of people on the continent aren’t covered by a mobile broadband signal, and half of those that are don’t use the internet, what’s referred to as the “usage gap”. Between 2014 and 2019, the usage gap on the continent widened by 13% due to slow growth in newly covered areas.
– Business Day