With all major manufacturers and operators on board, 5G is now a common mobile technology. In fact, it is becoming increasingly difficult in western markets to buy a new smartphone that does not offer 5G. However, next generation networking technology is still in a growth stage. Not every phone owner sees the seemingly elusive advantages of fifth generation networks.
It won’t get better for 5G until 2021, but what exactly should we expect in the coming year?
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Continuation of the rollout with better coverage
At least 2021 will lead to broader rollouts in existing markets. New cities will continue to go online. The coverage becomes wider and more consistent. However, we are still more than a year away from a global picture that rivals the coverage currently offered by 4G LTE.
Still, the networks will continue to move forward and 2021 will bring a number of 5G improvements for different countries around the world. For example, preliminary mmWave rollouts in Europe, China, Latin America, Australia and parts of Southeast Asia are planned for the course of 2021. They join the United States, South Korea, and Japan, which are already using this technology in some places. mmWave offers data speeds of several gigabits over short distances. It is intended for high capacity areas such as sports stadiums and city centers.
Next: 5G mmWave: Facts and Fiction You Must Know About
Other network upgrades expected include the introduction of the FDD spectrum below 6 GHz in China, Japan and Australia. FDD enables simultaneous uplink and downlink transmission on different frequencies. It is used in lower frequency bands, which are critical to extending 5G coverage over long distances.
5G will not only be available for city centers in the coming months and years. As an example, consider T-Mobile’s growing 600 MHz coverage in the US. At the same time, the continuous advancement of carrier aggregation technology will enable users to transfer data over the growing area of the 5G spectrum for better speeds and more consistent connections.
The bottom line is that we can assume that 5G networks will use a broader spectrum of frequencies in the course of 2021. Not only will this improve data speed and network reliability, but it will also improve global coverage. However, deploying 5G is a marathon, not a sprint. Don’t expect changes overnight. You also need a smartphone that also benefits from this latest technology.
Bridging the gap with 5G standalone
In the long term, 5G will bring even more, with a possible transition from non-independent to independent networks. Current fifth generation networks are usually just a data connection to the existing 4G LTE infrastructure. This means that 4G networks will still have to handle voice calls, account verification and other behind the scenes necessities.
See also: 5G standalone vs non-standalone explained
Finally, networks will be converted to 5G standalone, where the entire network will run on a 5G core backend. This process is already underway in the United States. T-Mobile flipped the switch for its standalone architecture in August 2020. Although not every T-Mobile customer connection is standalone yet. However, this is a positive first step and we will see more airlines begin this transition over the next year.
Similar transitions are already underway in China via China Telecom and also at SK Telecom in South Korea. Even so, these rollouts are still at an early stage and not at an advanced stage. In 2021, airlines in Europe, Latin America and Japan are expected to take their own steps towards independent networks at various points throughout the year.
We are still some time away from completing the transition from 4G to 5G. However, in 2021 this process will begin on a more meaningful scale.
Even cheaper 5G smartphones
Recognition: Ryan-Thomas Shaw / Android Authority
More advanced networks are one thing, but we need smartphones to use them. While 2019 was the year of the ultra-premium 5G phones, 2020 made technology mainstream. In 2021, 5G is expected to bring even the extremely low prices of the smartphone market.
While we obviously don’t know about specific handsets yet, the foundation for an extremely affordable 5G has already been laid. Chipset provider Qualcomm has already added integrated 5G modem functions to its Snapdragon 600 portfolio. The same goes for the 400 series next year. Both are offered at lower prices than the Snapdragon 888 and popular 765G of 2020.
MediaTek has also expanded its portfolio with its Dimensity 720, 700 and 800U chipsets. We’ll likely see another mid-range chip or two from Samsung in the coming months as well, similar to the Exynos 1080. Smartphone makers looking for inexpensive 5G processors have increasingly competitive choices. As a result, the entry point in 5G will almost certainly continue to decline over the course of 2021.
5G in 2021
5G is already here in 2020 and won’t become more widespread and affordable until 2021. Carriers around the world will continue to expand coverage, improve speed and take the next steps on the long journey of evolutionary 5G specs. India is also keen to have its first 5G networks turned on in the next twelve months. This will captivate millions more consumers and one of the largest smartphone markets in the world in late 2021 and 2022.
For global consumers, 5G smartphones will continue to fall in price. A broader option of affordable data plans with greater permissions should also be on the way in due course. We’ll likely wait forever for this elusive 5G use case to warrant an upgrade. Instead, it is more likely that 5G will gradually replace 4G over the coming months and years. This gives us faster data and better coverage without ever really noticing the switch.