How 5G Will Change Everything
The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
I know you’ve heard of 5G and think “oh great…. Faster internet…. NEXT!” I’m here to show you there’s more to 5G then you’ve been advertised and it’s going to change the world, let me break it down for you.
Ok WTF Do I Get From 5G?
Crazy speeds but you already know that
Very low latency
Handles more devices
I know this does not seems like a lot, to understand why this is special you have to understand ‘Latency’.
What is latency? Latency is the time it takes for you to communicate with something and the time it takes for it to respond to you. So let’s say your computer sends a packet to google and google sends you a response, the time it took for your packet to reach google and google responding is measured in milliseconds or “ms”. If it took 0.200 seconds for that round trip your latency is 200 ms.
Another way to think about this is your Ping when you play an online game.
If you look at the player BIG_Ranger in the image above his ping is 140 ms which is not the best but playable. When you get closer 200 ping the game should be unplayable.
How does it work?
5G uses higher radio frequencies that allow it to carry more information really fast. Nobody used it except military because the devices that were required to run 5G were very expensive and hard to get. 5G also uses network slicing that means it can deliver to users their exact networking needs individually instead of en masse like 4G networks. For example a parking meter doesn’t have the same needs as a self driving car.
Is 5G harmful to humans?
No, 5G is not strong enough to do anything to you. Of course like anything if you put high enough power to these things it can produce heat. No antenna is using that much power, it would be more of a weapon then an antenna.
Ionizing = Harm, Non-ionizing = No harm
*Disputed 4/29/2022: There’s an argument is that these things while they won't immediately harm you they harm you over time. The studies kind of get shaky on making that link, but who knows…
Ok… How Will This “Change the Werld” Or Whatever?
5G is expected to operate with a latency of around 1ms, this will enable smart devices aka IoT (internet of things) devices to do things that were previously difficult. Smart device = TV, security cameras, watches etc…
Reduced latency between devices means you can do much more. When you push a button on your keyboard you expect devices to respond fast with minimal delay, 5G does that. Doosan and LG are even using it to operate excavators remotely.
Watch this video:
A new meaning to “work from home” heh?
The possibilities are endless but here are some great use cases:
Smart street lights, signs, and devices on the road to help self driving cars maneuver.
Car to car communication - If my car intends to do something it will communicate it to the cars around me without delay.
Remote Surgery by the best doctors - No need to travel to Germany or something.
Qualcomm estimates that 5G could see the creation of 22 million jobs and the production of £8.5 trillion of goods and services by 2035. 😉
The Bad - Surveillance Supremacy
I’ve told you about the amazing things 5G can do but now it’s time to tell you about the bad. 5G can easily be used and is already being rolled out to surveil the population in countries like China. With help of 5G, the moment you step out of your apartment government cameras see your face and instantaneously identify you with their huge database of faces. Everywhere you go can be tracked in real time, from the camera in the Uber you’re about to enter to the camera in the girl you’re cheating with’s apartment building. Someone can just type your name into the surveillance system and see a live feed from whatever camera has you in sight. Yep, straight out of a dystopian movie.
Hey… The Government will take what you won’t die for, so it’s up to you to chose what you’ll allow.
The Ugly - Hacker’s Paradise
The more devices that are connected to the internet the more things hackers have to exploit. Written in the laws of the universe is “Offense wins”, it wins because you get to chose the time, place and method. A world where everything is connected is a hacker’s wet dream. The power they will have is unprecedented.
This is why I decided to get into cybersecurity, I have a “feeling” that industry will be very necessary. I gotta make a couple M’s before I die so I’m picking an industry that’s blowing up, making a few bucks selling bs on ecommerce stores won’t cut it lol.
as always, thanks for reading please subscribe for more. I’m chilling playing long game.