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= 5G Future =

Introduction
The first wave of 5G has just arrived. On April 3, Verizon started selling the world's first 5G phone, the Moto Z3 with its attached Moto Mod. AT&T, meanwhile, has been quietly running trials of a 5G hotspot with businesses in 19 cities, getting ready for broader commercial availability later this spring.

History
1G, 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G

First of all, if you're hearing about 5G Wi-Fi or AT&T's "5G E" phones, they aren't 5G cellular. Here's a full explainer on 5G vs. 5G E vs. 5GHz: What's the Difference?

The G in this 5G means it's a generation of wireless technology. While most generations have technically been defined by their data transmission speeds, each has also been marked by a break in encoding methods, or "air interfaces," that make it incompatible with the previous generation.

1G was analog cellular. 2G technologies, such as CDMA, GSM, and TDMA, were the first generation of digital cellular technologies. 3G technologies, such as EVDO, HSPA, and UMTS, brought speeds from 200kbps to a few megabits per second. 4G technologies, such as WiMAX and LTE, were the next incompatible leap forward, and they are now scaling up to hundreds of megabits and even gigabit-level speeds.

What's New?
5G brings three new aspects to the table: greater speed (to move more data), lower latency (to be more responsive), and the ability to connect a lot more devices at once (for sensors and smart devices).

The actual 5G radio system, known as 5G-NR, isn't compatible with 4G. But all 5G devices in the US, to start, will need 4G because they'll lean on it to make initial connections before trading up to 5G where it's available. That's technically known as a "non standalone," or NSA, network. Later, our 5G networks will become "standalone," or SA, not requiring 4G coverage to work. But that's a few years off.

4G will continue to improve with time, as well. The Qualcomm X24 modem, which will be built into most 2019 Android flagship phones, will support 4G speeds up to 2Gbps. The real advantages of 5G will come in massive capacity and low latency, beyond the levels 4G technologies can achieve.

That symbiosis between 4G and 5G has caused AT&T to get a little overenthusiastic about its 4G network. The carrier has started to call its 4G network "5G Evolution," because it sees improving 4G as a major step to 5G. It's right, of course. But the phrasing is designed to confuse less-informed consumers into thinking 5G Evolution is 5G, when it isn't.