2023-05-13 08:05:00
Since the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020, 5G began to be talked regarding as the next great generation of mobile technology, the successor to 4G. In these three years, this technology has taken off in sectors at the technological forefront such as China, the United States and part of Europe; while it advances slowly in other geographical points. However, in Argentina it is still far from being a popular technology.
To understand the delay of its implementation, RÍO NEGRO RADIO spoke with Enrique Carriermarket analyst specialized in Internet, computing and telecommunications, with more than 20 years of experience in the technology sector.
Q – Although it is a recent technology, 5G has not yet taken off in Argentina. How many people have implemented its use?
R – It depends on which market we are talking regarding. There are countries, like China, that lead in the number of users with hundreds of millions. The United States too, there you have high percentages. In the region, it exists as a commercial offer mainly in Brazil and Chile, but these are still recent processes and in terms of percentages, perhaps they do not reach double digits. This is not only a new technology: as is often the case even in previous generations, it takes a certain number of years not only for networks to be available with 5G in different parts of the country, but also for users to have compatible devices. Because we can have the 5G network working, but if the phone is not compatible, we do not access it.
Q – Is the country prepared -in terms of the deployment that the 5G network needs- to adopt the technology? Lack of investment?
R – That also depends on the objectives in terms of coverage and times. Many times it is managed in stages, beginning with the large urban centers. Today in Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Rosario and part of Neuquén or Río Negro you might start to have 5G in the most important cities, because you have infrastructure (you already had 4G and many times fiber optics) and concentration of people, which represents a more immediate benefit . Now, if we think regarding how long it might take for it to be throughout the country, it would be many years. Even 4G is not available in the whole country today.
Q – If you might have adequate investment in large urban centers, in economic terms, what contribution should companies make and what contribution would be from the consumer?
R – In terms of companies, it must be taken into account, on the one hand, that there is an initial cost that has to do with the spectrum, the frequency with which 5G will travel. That will probably come out by auction, and only then will the minimum prices be known, which will go only for the right to use the air. After that, it’s hard to say what the number will be because it will spread over time, and it will depend on a few other things that aren’t unique to 5G. For example, if I have to install fiber optics in the Alto Valle, this will be used for 5G but also for residential use, so it will not be a single cost for that. In any case, you have to think that if you want widespread development throughout the country, it costs billions of dollars over several years.
Q – In terms of connectivity, and thinking regarding the use of an average user, how noticeable is the difference with 4G?
R – I think that therein lies the big point and the big discussion. Actually, if you look at the previous generations, with 2G, 3G and 4G, very important improvements were noticeable in the eyes of the user. 2G was with digital services and SMS, in 3G the concept of navigation and apps appeared, and in 4G more video concept. As for 5G, there is no “significant” improvement, because in terms of speed, what you consume on YouTube, for example, will start at most half a second earlier. And it’s not something you’d trade a phone for. What makes 5G different from previous generations is that it makes it very conducive to connecting all kinds of objects or devices, which in the jargon we know as the “internet of things”. It is connecting from sensors on the street that can be managed depending on traffic, industrial uses… Things that no longer have to do with the person and the telephone, but also with these new uses. And there is the expectation placed on a generation that will enable us a wide range of new uses. It happened in Korea that some users agreed and filed a class action lawsuit because they said they were being sold something “fabulous” and no changes were seen. Today I tell you that the difference you may have is that, with 5G, there are a greater number of simultaneous connections on an antenna. So being in a crowded place, where you generally don’t have a signal, with 5G you might have it with ease.
It is clear that 5G will take time to be implemented. But one thing is for sure: it will function at a much higher level than just cellular. It will be a generation change in every sense, and as such, it will take time.
Listen to Enrique Carrier in dialogue with “Entre Redes”, from RÍO NEGRO RADIO:
Tune in RIO NEGRO RADIO. Listen to us on FM 90.9 from Neuquén, on FM 105.7 from Roca, on rionegro.com.ar/radio or through our App (here for Android, here for iOS).
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