Telcos are barely done rolling out 5G networks — and they're already talking about '5.5G'

fne8w2ah@lemmy.world to Technology@lemmy.world – 180 points –
Telcos are barely done rolling out 5G networks — and they're already talking about '5.5G'
cnbc.com
36

They've done this with every new generation, I'm shocked that they aren't already advertising 6G

Oh, did you forget about the time LTE started rolling out and telcos decided to call HSPA+ (3.5G) 4G? One of these scumbags will start calling it 6G. Marketing teams are full of great ideas. /s

Technically speaking the first LTE specification didn't meet 4G requirements either, so for a short while you could get two different fake 4Gs.

Over a decade ago and this crap still feels like yesterday.

"Comcast is discontinuing its its “Xfinity 10G Network” branding to describe its internet service after a National Advertising Review Board (NARB) panel found that the term could mislead consumers into thinking that Comcast’s cellular and broadband services would offer much faster speeds than current-generation networks."

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/comcast-agrees-to-kill-10g-branding-after-advertising-watchdogs-said-it-was-misleading-185550194.html?guccounter=1

AT&T is already calling it 6GE(volution). /s

That's all well and good until someone invents 6 minute abs

6G market entry is planned for around 2030 with first specifications being finished around 2027-28, there have always been around 10 years between generations.

The illusion of progress is the next best thing

Well sure. They are always going to be upgrading their networks.

Let's see 4G LTE releases over the years...

• Release 8 (2008): Introduced base LTE capabilities, including high peak data rates (up to 300 Mbps downlink, 75 Mbps uplink), improved spectral efficiency, flexible bandwidth options, and lower latency compared to 3G.

• Release 9 (2011): Enhanced aspects of Release 8, such as carrier aggregation (combining multiple frequency bands for increased bandwidth), improved handover (switching between cell towers), and support for multicast/broadcast services.

• Release 10 (2011): Introduced LTE Advanced, marking a significant step forward. It brought features like wider bandwidth support, further carrier aggregation enhancements, and MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) antenna technology for increased capacity and efficiency.

• Release 11 (2013): Continued improvements on LTE Advanced, focusing on enhanced interoperability with Wi-Fi, power saving features, and self-organizing network (SON) functionalities for network optimization.

• Release 12 (2014): Furthered LTE Advanced capabilities, including support for Voice over LTE (VoLTE) calls, machine-type communication (MTC) for low-power devices, and coordinated multi-point (CoMP) transmission for improved coverage and capacity.

5G means Fifth Generation, so I would think that 5.5G is simply an improved version.

I've heard that they are constantly improving the standard, 5G was a "snapshot" that they agreed upon.

that is how technology works...

Yeah it would actually be kinda freaky if they finished rolling out an upgrade and just declared they were done.

Well, that's it. Pack it up boys. Not more upgrades forever. We did it.

Anyone else notice that after 5G came out, 4G seems to have slowed to 3G or less? It will sometimes take almost two minutes for a page to load, if at all with 4G status.

Yep.

And 5G is no better.

It all just sucks now. All of it. All the time.

3G was often better and more reliable when it was king than modern tech.

3G was often better and more reliable when it was king than modern tech

Yeah, cause at that time there were very few people using it for anything bandwidth intensive. 3g is absolutely terrible at serving lots of bandwidth to a big crowd, even it can deliver acceptable speeds to a few people in more rural areas

Of course they are talking about it. The moment they finish defining (not deploying) one format, they talk about the next one. Did you expect 5G be the last format ever?

My foreign friends say this is an American problem and they have been past 5G for quite some time, even up to 8G speeds.

Yeah. Currently at 7G planning to move up to 8G once I get my Neuralink implant.