Many phone users mistakenly believe that 5G is little more than an upgrade to 4G.
But the reality is that the 5th Generation wireless technology will bring substantial benefits for the VoIP technology used by internet phone systems and unified communication platforms.
Some improvements relate to what telecom engineers call “density issues,†which you may have experienced at busy transport hubs or during an NFL football game, a Major League Baseball playoff or a hip-hop concert. Simply put, current mobile phone networks are deluged if too many callers use too many phones at the same time in the vicinity.
As people become ever more wedded to their mobile phones, they’re running into the capacity constraints that 4G wireless networks exhibit. 5G is designed to support nearly 10 times that traffic.
Faster, laser-focused tech
So the next generation of wireless networks really represents a major step up for voice over internet calls because of their better coverage and higher-quality input and output.
Mobile VoIP technology requires extremely low latency data transmission, and while that may happen on faster WiFi networks, early stage 5G won’t be capable of delivering — yet.
Engineers reckon that 5G, which currently has a latency of around 12 milliseconds, will eventually decline to as low as 2 milliseconds. Some early trials have been much slower than 12 milliseconds.
The new tech is also using what’s called beamformingOpens a new window , a process already in play within WiFi technology that focuses a signal in a specific direction to increase its strength. It’s designed to provide a faster service by aiming the signal at a specific location. It can also increase a signal’s range.
From a 5G perspective, beamforming could see towers used to focus the signal on a high volume location within range, say an office block or a busy railway station.
The other major 5G tech advantage: bigger bandwidth for non-voice communications, including video and file transfer. They still form an important part of unified communicationOpens a new window packages alongside VoIP. Early-generation 5G networks are unlikely to deliver the same traffic speeds as WiFi for VoIP users, but the technology is considered to be good enough eventually to get to that point.
A gradual rollout
Internet phones use 4G tech as a backup when WiFI is out of range. VoIP networks are expected to be early adopters of 5G bandwidth but most traffic is expected initially to stay on 4G. Users of VoIP will need to pay attention to how 5G is rolled out.
Networks are introducing 5G gradually across the United States but the tech is currently limitedOpens a new window .
According to the latest reports, Verizon has managed to take both fixed and mobile 5G live in several areas, and T-Mobile has said it expects 5G coverage to be nationwide in December. US Cellular projects to have 5G ready in 2020. Other providers, including Starry and Sprint, have rolled out 5G to specific major cities like New York and Washington and gradually will add more cities.
Key takeaways:
- 5G technology is already being rolled out in the United States and is expected to bring considerable benefits for users of mobile VoIP.
- 5G’s biggest plus factor for VoIP is to tackle latency issues around major density points for mobile communications which affect call quality.
- 5G promises superior bandwidth to WiFi over the longer term, but early tests indicate that major mobile networks are not there yet.
- 5G also will make it easier for users to access the other components of unified communication networks, such as file transfer and video conferencing.