5G hype is everywhere, but can’t we all just take a breath and let the engineering folks figure out what it means before the marketing folks take over?
Hello! And welcome to our Friday column, Worst of the Week. There’s a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry, so this column is a chance for us at RCRWireless.com to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the wrong way. We hope you enjoy it!
I am considered by many as “difficult” when it comes to how the mobile telecom space throws around generational designations.
Maybe it’s because I came into this space on the cusp of 2000, when the market was thick in the technology wars between GSM, TDMA and CDMA for 2G services. That also was the time the mobile telecom space was getting serious about plans for 3G, though it also was the time when some conversations were still transmitted using analog technology. Good stuff.
In order to cover the telecom space at that time, you needed to have a pretty good understanding of what exactly 2G and 3G meant, and that required countless hours reading through designations for both as written by the International Telecommunications Union. That body was given the task of making such calls by the then engineers tasked with developing the technology.
Of course, that also was the time when the mobile telecom space began hitting its stride in the consumer marketplace, thus the marketing folks decided those engineering nerds were way too strict in terms of what 2G or 3G meant, thus we were inundated with such marketing speak like 2.5G, 2.75G, 3.5G and 3.75G. Good stuff.
This of course quickly took over the “4G” space, which while most 4G networks are really not 4G in the eyes of the ITU, are of course labeled as 4G by one and all. Sure, the move to LTE and WiMAX were a pretty significant generational and technical shift for the mobile telecom space, but if going by the rules, true 4G is only now coming to market with some of the LTE-Advanced enhancements.
(And, don’t get me started on 4.5G or 4.75G. Didn’t we learn?)
This all of course leads to the hype of today around “5G” technology, something that is still years away from being a thing, but is already wearing out the “5” and “G” keys on keyboards across marketing departments. Let’s just get this out of the way right now: there is no “5G.” I know that statement makes no sense to the hyperbole machines, but unfortunately it’s the truth.
At the recent CTIA Super Mobility event, which we should all acknowledge is the last CTIA trade show for the foreseeable future, you couldn’t walk five feet without seeing something related to 5G or hearing someone speak of the wonders of 5G. And, being difficult, I had to take many to task on the fact that what they were speaking about is not something that can really be spoken about in mixed company.
Why? Well, what I think might be 5G is more than likely very different from what you think 5G is. Thus, any sort of conversation on the topic is really a doomed conversation from the get go, so … quit talking to me about 5G.
Is MIMO 5G? Maybe.
Is the “internet of things” 5G? Perhaps.
Is millimeter wave spectrum 5G? Could be.
Is beamforming 5G? Seems possible.
That’s the thing. All of these could be part of what 5G becomes, but at this point they aren’t, and even better some of these things can be and are part of 4G technical standards.
Look, I get that the industry needs something to strive for, and with 4G having been conquered in the minds of marketers and in the spending accounts of wireless carriers, 5G is the obvious next step. I mean we can’t just have everyone stop talking and enjoy a moment of silence.
I know this makes me sound like some sort of curmudgeon, and really I’m not. I am all about advancing technology to make things better. But, wouldn’t it be great if we could first perfect what’s here today before jumping to make the next big thing?
LTE is a pretty awesome technology and in its LTE-A state is a pretty awesome 4G technology. The first few years of its existence were a bit rough, but it seems that most of the wrinkles have been worked out (cough … VoLTE … cough) and most consumers have some sort of idea what to expect when connected to a 4G network. It’s really pretty cool.
Now, I know all of this is falling on deaf ears and that hype around 5G will only continue to grow louder. That’s just the way this whole thing works. Heck, I am set to attend the Competitive Carriers Association Annual Convention next week, and the event is chock-a-block full of content related to 5G. If I can’t catch at break from 5G at a CCA event, where can I get some peace?
Can we at least let the nerds nail down what 5G will be before we let the marketing folks trample over those efforts and tell us what 5G means to them?
I want to eventually believe the hype, but first I need something concrete to believe in.
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