You’ve seen that little 3G or 4G notation in the top bar of your smart phone, but do you really understand what they mean and how big of a difference will 5G make?
First, you should understand what these notations are actually referencing; the “G” is an abbreviation for generation. You have third generation wireless broadband and fourth generation; at this point, 3G is on its way out the door and 4G is taking the forefront, but for how long? To compare this to iinets wireless internet online, visit their site today.
According to Samsung, it could be sooner than most have suspected, as they recently announced a breakthrough in 5G technology, boasting that these hyper-speed connections could allow someone to download a 3D film in a second. Basically, it took me longer to type the word ‘second’ (never mind that I had to take the time to italicize it) than it would take us to download a very large, complicated, 3D movie file. That’s impressive. With speeds about 100 times faster than what 4G currently provides—not even to everyone, as it’s still being rolled out to many carriers—our super-fast 4G speeds that we’re so impressed with will be long forgotten.
Still on 3G?
Get with the times! 3G is old hat! It’s the third generation of mobile communication technology and it definitely was a huge leap from the archaic 2G and 1G that most young kids would lose patience with and throw against a wall. The rest of us, however, remember those sad speeds.
3G, however, usually could render speeds of 600Kbps (kilobits per second) to 1.4Mbps (megabits per second. This technology handled all of the data transfers under the cellular service provider umbrella and had the largest coverage area. Now, 4G is taking center stage.
4G – A Vast Improvement
If you’ve recently switched to a 4G (fourth generation) phone then you know first-hand what the difference is between 4G and 3G—SPEED! This technology integrates both the LTE and WiMAX technologies, rendering speeds of 5 to 12Mbps; that’s 5 to 12 times what 3G could do.
Why do we need it? Well, our entire social infrastructure now revolves around how fast we can get information and how fast we can share it; 4G makes this a streamlined process. Whether you’re into multitasking, playing video games, or streaming videos for work or play, the 4G technology made our lives faster.
The Mysterious 5G
Not much is yet known about how big of a difference 5G will make; at this point it’s still in development, but Samsung is certainly making waves, as previously mentioned. Test results announced in May of 2013 indicate that the South Korean company expects speeds of more than 1 gigabit per second over a distance spanning two kilometers.
Part of this announcement from Samsung included the following: “This new technology will allow users to transmit massive data files, including high-quality digital movies practically without limitation. As a result, subscribers will be able to enjoy a wide range of services such as 3D movies and games, real-time streaming of ultra high-definition content, and remote medical services.”
