Telecommunication companies and internet service providers have been working towards releasing fully-fledged 5G networks within the last five or so years. 5G network technologies seem to offer a further increase in speed and coverage when compared to those provided by 4G networks. Theoretically, 5G could potentially reach speeds of 10-30 Gbps, compared to a theoretical speed of 4G coming in at 100-300 Mbps. As 5G networks continue to mature it will be interesting to see how close reality comes to these theoretical speeds.
About four or five years ago I was working on developing a very basic program in Java for a final class project when I came across some peer-reviewed journals discussing the promising improvements to cellular networks that 5G networks might provide within the next couple of decades. As someone that likes to stay in the know on emerging technologies, I felt inclined to conduct my own further research into the promises of this emerging new network. Due to this early exposure to the potential benefits of 5G networks I was quick to jump on board when T-Mobile launched their 5G network at the end of 2019. I upgraded to a 5G capable phone and honestly my cell coverage and download speeds in my somewhat rural area have both greatly improved. I feel due to my satisfaction for the last couple of years with 5G networks that I would fit into the confirmation stage of the adoption process. As long as the service remains reliable and the cost stays similar to what I was paying for my 4G capable device then I will continue to make use of 5G cellular networks.
Since I switched to 5G almost immediately upon my cellular provider deploying 5G network capabilities in my area I feel that I most closely align with the early adopter category. This makes quite a bit of sense due to my prior inclination to purchase and use emerging innovations in technology related to networking and communication. Along with this I also urged my family and friends living in similar rural areas to look into the coverage maps and speeds provided by 5G compared to that of their current 4G networks. This led to several individuals choosing to upgrade to a 5G capable device thanks to the promise of better coverage throughout some of the smaller towns in eastern Kansas. One surprising technology that I was actually in the laggards adoption category would be using Snapchat. When this app launched I did not think there would be any real use for it since it provided similar functions to those already included by default in iMessage or other similar SMS applications. It was always funny in the past few years when someone would ask what my snap was and I would reply, “I don’t use Snapchat.” After many puzzled looks and further probing questions as to what person in their 20s doesn’t use Snapchat I finally caved and created an account that I still seldom use today.
5G is something that has piqued my interest lately, in high school I even wrote a paper about the innovations that could be made possible with the integration of a mesh 5G network. I am yet to get a 5G capable phone though mainly due to my provider not distributing that technology yet. Although I would also like to consider myself part of that early adopter crowd as well, at least how it relates to the curiosity of the subject. While interning at an ISP this summer I got a decent amount of insight into how other people react to this technology. It blew my mind how many people were still only getting 10MB broadband to their homes. It is not due to lack of a better option, some of these customers were in areas that had fiber-to-the-home and could receive 1GB. In their defense in these areas, it was only about 10 years ago when 10MB download speeds were cutting edge, but with the exponential growth in innovation in this field, it is almost as if they live 2010.