Upgrade to 5G without increases in data allowances?

[jkwilson]

Upgrading to faster speeds while bragging that users can watch 4K movies and have 4K video calls without at least an order of magnitude data allowance increase seems like an inexplicable move from cell providers. 4K is about 7.2GB per hour which will quickly eat through any current data allowance. Kind of like having a car with a sports suspension and high horsepower engine when the only place you can drive has a stop sign every block.

I know data allowances, at least for more expensive plans, aren’t hard limits, but it seems that more subscribers with phones capable of eating data at a very high rate will result in the need for providers to throttle more often.

Is 5G going to result in a less usable network? Will 5G get the priority so the provider has bragging rights for the fastest 5G while 4G users effectively get downgraded performance?

My 2 cents is that a bigger pipe would have been a better upgrade than a faster one.

[mr__ed]

I think this change to 5G.has affected my Verizon service in a negative way. There are certain times, especially early morning, when I receive no service at all. Usually, I’ve found Verizon to be very reliable. I’m not about to buy a new phone, either., just to accommodate the newer service. 4G is just fine for me!

[NamMedevac_70]

Will my newly purchased 4G Android Nokia smartphone receive 5G signal if I am in downtown SF or Sacramento. I am confused from previous replies. Thanks everyone.

[docj]

Putting aside the confusion in this thread between 2GHz and 5GHz wifi and 4G and 5G cellular, it's worth noting that not all 5G is created equal and much of the recent hoopla about 5G won't provide the performance improvement that many people are expecting.

All three carriers are now using DSS (Dynamic Spectrum Sharing) to insert a form of 5G onto their existing 4G networks. This saves enormous costs (for them) and speeds up the process of being able to claim that they have 5G nearly everywhere.

However, the drawback to using frequencies in the 600-800MHz band for 5G is that the result is a sort of "5G Lite" with speeds that are somewhat better than what most of us get with 4G but not blazingly fast! "Real 5G" requires millimeter wave technology which might never be seen anywhere outside major urban centers. Over time there will be a build-out of mid-band 5G in the 2.5GHz region which will produce an "in between" form of 5G.

[way2roll]

srt20 wrote:

way2roll wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:

way2roll wrote:
Let me preface by saying I don't know a thing about the differences between 2,4 and 5 G. My phone has capability of 2 and 4. My home internet has 2 and 5. Of all three, 5g performs the worst. We cut the cord and stream everything and 2g performs the most consistently. 5g drops and requires re-connecting more often than 2g. I am sure there are reasons why this happens, but between 2 and 5g, we opt for 2g. It just performs better. My son is a gamer with a pretty sophisticated PC and can't tell the difference.

I think you've confused different sets of numbers.

I don't think I did.
Home internet has 2G and 5G
phone has 2G and 4G

That's 2G, 4G and 5G across 2 devices. (2 each respectively)

2G and 4G on the phone seem to perform identical.
2G and 5G on the home internet are vastly different and 2G performs consistently better.

Feel free to point out where I confused different sets of numbers.

Yeah you are talking about something totally different than the OP.

It seems I am. As I said I don't know much about it. Apologies if I clouded the conversation.

[srt20]

way2roll wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:

way2roll wrote:
Let me preface by saying I don't know a thing about the differences between 2,4 and 5 G. My phone has capability of 2 and 4. My home internet has 2 and 5. Of all three, 5g performs the worst. We cut the cord and stream everything and 2g performs the most consistently. 5g drops and requires re-connecting more often than 2g. I am sure there are reasons why this happens, but between 2 and 5g, we opt for 2g. It just performs better. My son is a gamer with a pretty sophisticated PC and can't tell the difference.

I think you've confused different sets of numbers.

I don't think I did.
Home internet has 2G and 5G
phone has 2G and 4G

That's 2G, 4G and 5G across 2 devices. (2 each respectively)

2G and 4G on the phone seem to perform identical.
2G and 5G on the home internet are vastly different and 2G performs consistently better.

Feel free to point out where I confused different sets of numbers.

Yeah you are talking about something totally different than the OP.

[theoldwizard1]

agesilaus wrote:

theoldwizard1 wrote:

agesilaus wrote:
5G from what I've read is an urban only phenomena for the foreseeable future. It has very limited range,

Not true ! T Mobile signals are mostly (all?) FR1. Same range as 4G but not significantly faster.

So it is different but the same? They jut change the name and charge more?

Same range, slightly better through put.

[Tom_M1]

way2roll wrote:
Let me preface by saying I don't know a thing about the differences between 2,4 and 5 G. My phone has capability of 2 and 4. My home internet has 2 and 5. Of all three, 5g performs the worst. We cut the cord and stream everything and 2g performs the most consistently. 5g drops and requires re-connecting more often than 2g. I am sure there are reasons why this happens, but between 2 and 5g, we opt for 2g. It just performs better. My son is a gamer with a pretty sophisticated PC and can't tell the difference.

For cellular data 2, 4, and 5G stand for 2nd, 4th, and 5th Generation. For your home network the 2, and 5G are the frequencies that your router uses to broadcast WiFi. 2 and 5 Gigahertz.

[way2roll]

wapiticountry wrote:

way2roll wrote:

agesilaus wrote:
I'm no expert but 2G is extinct. You probably must be on 3G or 4G, and if it was 2G you would not be happy with it.

Interesting how it's still an option to connect on my router and it still works. I must be connected to some sort of time portal.

That is your wifi connection from your personal router to your personal device, not your phone's connection to the cellular carrier's towers and network. Two different animals.

makes sense, thanks for explaining.

[wapiticountry]

way2roll wrote:

agesilaus wrote:
I'm no expert but 2G is extinct. You probably must be on 3G or 4G, and if it was 2G you would not be happy with it.

Interesting how it's still an option to connect on my router and it still works. I must be connected to some sort of time portal.

That is your wifi connection from your personal router to your personal device, not your phone's connection to the cellular carrier's towers and network. Two different animals.

[way2roll]

agesilaus wrote:
I'm no expert but 2G is extinct. You probably must be on 3G or 4G, and if it was 2G you would not be happy with it.

Interesting how it's still an option to connect on my router and it still works. I must be connected to some sort of time portal.

[agesilaus]

I'm no expert but 2G is extinct. You probably must be on 3G or 4G, and if it was 2G you would not be happy with it.

[way2roll]

fj12ryder wrote:

way2roll wrote:
Let me preface by saying I don't know a thing about the differences between 2,4 and 5 G. My phone has capability of 2 and 4. My home internet has 2 and 5. Of all three, 5g performs the worst. We cut the cord and stream everything and 2g performs the most consistently. 5g drops and requires re-connecting more often than 2g. I am sure there are reasons why this happens, but between 2 and 5g, we opt for 2g. It just performs better. My son is a gamer with a pretty sophisticated PC and can't tell the difference.

I think you've confused different sets of numbers.

I don't think I did.
Home internet has 2G and 5G
phone has 2G and 4G

That's 2G, 4G and 5G across 2 devices. (2 each respectively)

2G and 4G on the phone seem to perform identical.
2G and 5G on the home internet are vastly different and 2G performs consistently better.

Feel free to point out where I confused different sets of numbers.

[fj12ryder]

way2roll wrote:
Let me preface by saying I don't know a thing about the differences between 2,4 and 5 G. My phone has capability of 2 and 4. My home internet has 2 and 5. Of all three, 5g performs the worst. We cut the cord and stream everything and 2g performs the most consistently. 5g drops and requires re-connecting more often than 2g. I am sure there are reasons why this happens, but between 2 and 5g, we opt for 2g. It just performs better. My son is a gamer with a pretty sophisticated PC and can't tell the difference.

I think you've confused different sets of numbers.

[agesilaus]

theoldwizard1 wrote:

agesilaus wrote:
5G from what I've read is an urban only phenomena for the foreseeable future. It has very limited range,

Not true ! T Mobile signals are mostly (all?) FR1. Same range as 4G but not significantly faster.

So it is different but the same? They jut change the name and charge more?