Although at first we were promised something with 5G, in reality… it is still far from being completed and meeting all the expectations we had. And it is that, they sold us 5G as a thing, when there is still a lot to do to reach all the promises that they made us with these latest generation networks.
At the moment, we are facing a pseudo 5G, more than anything, because the real coverage for this mobile network has not yet been recorded, and to this we must add that the base stations are being equipped with DSS (Dynamic Spectrum Share) technology with the objective of “taking advantage” of 4G coverage. And that’s not all, but, in any case, this connection for now does not offer the true technical advantages that it promised us.
There are different types of 5G
One of the first points to deal with is that there are different types of 5G, specifically, we are talking about 5G NSA and 5G SA. And it is that, between both connections, there are very important keys that must be taken into account when understanding the true characteristics and benefits of this latest generation mobile connection.
The harsh reality is that we only enjoy, at least during these initial years, the 5G NSA network, which promises transfer speeds of up to 2 Gbps download and 150 Mbps upload. Instead, 5G SA is exactly what they sold us at the time, a technology capable of achieving a connection that offers us a download speed that starts at 20 Gbps. Not counting latency, which is only 1 millisecond, versus NSA’s 15 milliseconds.
Even the architecture of both networks is different. In addition, when checking this series of deployments of this fifth generation network, it has been seen how radio base stations use 4G to have the so-called 5G DSS. So we would be in practice before a “fake” connection, since they upload their software to the 4G stations. So they share frequencies. Instead, authentic 5G has to be deployed on official frequencies that Europe has chosen, such as the 700 MHz, 3.5 GHz or, in the future, 26 GHz bands.
The characteristic 5G DSS
Although the 5G NSA is also 5G, the truth is that they have great differences. So, until we get to take advantage of all the virtues of this fifth generation network, there is still a lot of work to do in terms of deployment.
And not only this, but, for now, it is much faster and cheaper to deploy this connection by inserting the necessary software in the 4G network stations to achieve this characteristic 5G that comes with an extra (5G DSS). But, as we have been pointing out before, the shortcomings are obvious.
In any case, the 20 Gbps of this mobile network that they sold us at the time is still a long way off. Or the latency to 1 ms. The most striking of all is that what has been achieved by the current 4G+ networks is something similar to the experience that can be experienced with the fifth generation NSA network in terms of the theoretical maximum download or upload speed. But, obviously, the 5G NSA is above. Although it is very far from the SA.
One last point to note is that, from the Ministry of Economy itself, according to its report on broadband last year, although DSS technology stands out, “the use of the 4G and 5G spectrum”, despite allowing the extension of this fifth-generation network in a faster way, «the speed of 5G DSS will be limited to the 4G port, so the benefits will be very similar«.
