Bell Labs Researcher Discusses the Realities of 5G

It's hard for me to understand why anyone is excited about 5G when most carriers aren't running full bandwidth 4G and have significant data caps. Although 5G may be fast in some markets, 5G on the whole just seems so pointless for consumers.

Great interview. At the start Dave kind of conflates 5G with millimeter wave 5G.<p>The big difference between LTE networks and 5G networks is not the frequency ranges used, low band 5G is perfectly feasible. The big difference is the linear increase in information capacity per antenna in MIMO (multiple in multiple out, many send many receive antenna) verses the logarithmic increase per antenna with single antenna to single antenna links. (while power his held constant)<p>If you want to learn more this is a great intro to channel capacity with MIMO, <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;complextoreal.com&#x2F;wp-content&#x2F;uploads&#x2F;2013&#x2F;01&#x2F;mimo.pdf" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;complextoreal.com&#x2F;wp-content&#x2F;uploads&#x2F;2013&#x2F;01&#x2F;mimo.pdf</a>

4G-&gt;5G is the equivalent to upgrading from gigabit to 10 gigabit ethernet yet everyone is treating it like some kind of insane technology.<p>I have yet to see what exactly the hype is about.

If you&#x27;ve ever seriously played with wifi tech you very well know the higher the frequency the less penetration you get. In an indoor environment the difference between 800Mhz and 2.7Ghz can be astounding. 5G at 90Ghz is only going to work at certain line of sight distances. If you ever hear anyone talking about terahertz speeds you can almost be guaranteed that would be happening with very specifically located devices or within the confines of an integrated circuit.

What I don&#x27;t understand is if we get faster speeds, will we still see data buckets stay the same? I mean what&#x27;s the point of a faster network if you&#x27;re still capped at 2,5,10GB. And will qualcomm be the only game in town thanks to patents? My iPhone Xs feels like a bicycle in terms of data speed, while my Galaxy S8 is 2-3 times faster.

This is a great interview! I have to say, learning about the requirement for multiple antenna modules in a smartphone, each with impressive phased arrays, the massive investment that&#x27;s going to be required in microcells, and the myriad of other engineering issues to be overcome, properly put in context how ludicrous AT&amp;T&#x27;s badging of 4G technologies as 5Ge is.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;arstechnica.com&#x2F;information-technology&#x2F;2019&#x2F;01&#x2F;att-defends-misleading-5g-network-icons-on-4g-phones&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;arstechnica.com&#x2F;information-technology&#x2F;2019&#x2F;01&#x2F;att-d...</a>

Every 5 years or so, there is a rally to make millimeter-wave communications a thing. Every time it fails. Maybe there&#x27;s enough money and effort his time around to make it happen, but I wouldn&#x27;t bet on it myself.

That’s just a bunch of bullet points. LAME.