Some of you may have noticed that your smartphone will sometimes show “5G” in some areas of the United States. 5G is the 5th generation of wireless technology, as you may also remember 1G, 2G, 3G UMTS, and 4G LTE.
In this day and age, consumers of mobile data are constantly looking to have more available at their fingertips — and, in much less time. However, in order to keep up, the cell tower companies need to keep upgrading their networks to allow for the increased capacity. Hence, 5G.
In the beginning, 1G was analog cellular. With 2G, there was GSM, TMDA, and CDMA which were digital technologies. The next generation — or 3G — included UMTS which began to handle more internet traffic that consumers were beginning to use on their mobile devices. 4G technology — which includes LTE — allowed for yet higher speeds and more data consumption — as mobile users expected data in the gigabytes, not kilobytes.
This latest 5G technology is being unveiled in select metropolitan areas and it will be time before it is something that is mainstream. It requires the cell phone carriers to upgrade their existing networks, which can cost billions and take several years. However, expect to see more updates on its evolution in the near future.
Contact us today to learn about how your cell site lease may be affected by 5G!
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