Want to bust a 1GB monthly bandwidth allowance in just 8 seconds? 5G could be your answer, and Samsung have now achieved a speed of up to 1.056 Gbps for up to 2 kilometres, roughly 1.2 miles.
Using a frequency of 28 Ghz they’ve used “adaptive array transeiver technology” to edge us closer to super-super-super-fast mobile broadband. We reckon that 125MB files will fly across a link of this speed in just one second.
SAMSUNG ANNOUNCES WORLD’S FIRST 5G MMWAVE MOBILE TECHNOLOGY
Samsung develops adaptive array transceiver technology operating in the millimetre-wave frequency bands for outdoor cellular communications
London, UK – May 13th, 2013 – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., announced today that it has successfully developed the world’s first adaptive array transceiver technology operating in the millimetre-wave Ka bands for cellular communications. The new technology sits at the core of 5G mobile communications system and will provide data transmission up to several hundred times faster than current 4G networks.
5G mobile communications technology is the next generation of the existing 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network technology. 5G will be capable of providing an ever present Gbps experience to subscribers and offers data transmission speeds of up to several tens of Gbps per base station.
“The millimetre-wave band is the most effective solution to recent surges in wireless internet usage,” said ChangYeong Kim, Executive Vice President of Samsung Electronics and Head of Digital Media & Communication (DMC) R&D Centre. “Samsung’s recent success in developing the adaptive array transceiver technology has brought us one step closer to the commercialisation of 5G mobile communications in the millimetre-wave bands.”
Samsung Secures Millimetre-Wave Transceiver Technologies for 5G Cellular Networks
The implementation of a high-speed 5G cellular network requires a broad band of frequencies, much like an increased water flow requires a wider pipe. While it was a recognised option, it has been long believed that the millimetre-wave bands had limitations in transmitting data over long distances due to its unfavourable propagation characteristics.
However, Samsung’s new adaptive array transceiver technology has proved itself as a successful solution. It transmits data in the millimetre-wave band at a frequency of 28 GHz at a speed of up to 1.056 Gbps to a distance of up to 2 kilometres. The adaptive array transceiver technology, using 64 antenna elements, can be a viable solution for overcoming the radio propagation loss at millimetre-wave bands, much higher than the conventional frequency bands ranging from several hundred MHz to several GHz.
Samsung plans to accelerate the research and development of 5G mobile communications technologies, including adaptive array transceiver at the millimetre-wave bands, to commercialise those technologies by 2020.
Samsung Draws the World Closer to New Era of Mobile Communications
Samsung’s latest innovation is expected to invigorate research into 5G cellular communications across the world; the company believes it will trigger the creation of international alliances and the timely commercialisation of related mobile broadband services.
The competition for technology leadership in next-generation mobile communications development is getting increasingly fierce. China established a government-led “IMT-2020 (5G) Promotion Group” for 5G research in February 2012, while the European Commission also plans to invest 50 million Euros in 2013 to bring 5G services to the market by 2020.
Once commercialised, 5G mobile communications technology will be capable of ultra-high-speed data transmission up to several hundred times faster than even the 4G LTE-Advanced technology due for launch later this year.
Samsung’s 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 (UHD) content, and remote medical services.
I’d really hope that by 2020, the average data caps will have gone up a bit! This ‘5G’ is most certainly not a standard yet. Even when it is in the distant future, there are so many inherent practicalities with using the 28GHz spectrum that would mean in a built-up environment it would be difficult to improve much on 4G speeds at medium to long distances from the mast.
I know that Samsung are also working on a protocol to allow two disparate frequency bands to complement each other to address this very issue, but again, I think LTE will have plenty of life before we see any of this. LTE is capable of significant speeds for mobile, and it’s a stable, relatively future-proof technology which will be as much a staple of mobile communications as the old 2G technology is today (which still accounts for more than 80% of your phone signal, I might add).