Sprint Completes World's First 5G Data Call

January 10, 2019, 03:43 PM

Pipe Smoker

5G is going to give wired Internet suppliers real competition.

“SAN DIEGO, Jan. 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Sprint (NYSE:S) announced it has reached a significant milestone on its path towards launching mobile 5G service beginning in the first half of this year. Together with Nokia and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, the companies this week completed the world's first over-the-air 5G data transmission using 2.5 GHz and Massive MIMO on Sprint's live commercial network…”

https://finance.yahoo.com/news...1.html?.tsrc=applewf

January 10, 2019, 03:51 PM

slabsides45

I saw this pic from it, I think size does matter here....

January 10, 2019, 06:35 PM

craigcpa

And reception is still sketchy countrywide.

January 10, 2019, 06:44 PM

bigdeal

quote:
Originally posted by craigcpa:
And reception is still sketchy countrywide.

Huh. There is virtually no 5G service nationwide at the moment. Everyone is racing to upgrade all their equipment and add a whole lotta new receiver/transmitters to make 5G possible. Its won't be until sometime in 2020 when 5G starts to really become viable to the masses. But when it does become viable/reliable, 5G has to potential to be a huge game changer when it comes to data communications.

January 10, 2019, 07:07 PM

sigmonkey

quote:
Originally posted by slabsides45:
I saw this pic from it, I think size does matter here....

January 10, 2019, 07:23 PM

dewhorse

quote:
Originally posted by bigdeal:
quote:
Originally posted by craigcpa:
And reception is still sketchy countrywide.
Huh. There is virtually no 5G service nationwide at the moment. Everyone is racing to upgrade all their equipment and add a whole lotta new receiver/transmitters to make 5G possible. Its won't be until sometime in 2020 when 5G starts to really become viable to the masses. But when it does become viable/reliable, 5G has to potential to be a huge game changer when it comes to data communications.

5G is not necessarily for your smart phones, it is more for the IOT (internet of things) due to the lack of latency.

Not saying it will not be used for streaming and such but the real aim is toward driver less cars and such, hence the pico cells going up on light poles all over.

Sprint is trying to increase their sale price before TMO takes them over. As one who is intimately involved with the roll out you wil not see see 5G whole scale until 2020 at least. That will be in pop centers.

No carrier is building 5G right now, they are trialing it and building the infrastructure to build it, they have not even started the MASSIVE channel clearing to support it....also they do not even have handsets for it on a large scale.

oh...almost forgot...Sprint sucks

January 10, 2019, 07:40 PM

Black92LX

quote:
Originally posted by bigdeal:
quote:
Originally posted by craigcpa:
And reception is still sketchy countrywide.
Huh. There is virtually no 5G service nationwide at the moment. Everyone is racing to upgrade all their equipment and add a whole lotta new receiver/transmitters to make 5G possible. Its won't be until sometime in 2020 when 5G starts to really become viable to the masses. But when it does become viable/reliable, 5G has to potential to be a huge game changer when it comes to data communications.

I think he is referring to their 4g LTE service.

January 10, 2019, 08:13 PM

Blown_Chevelle1971

That is awesome

quote:
Originally posted by sigmonkey:
quote:
Originally posted by slabsides45:
I saw this pic from it, I think size does matter here....

January 10, 2019, 08:47 PM

tatortodd

quote:
Originally posted by Black92LX:
quote:
Originally posted by bigdeal:
quote:
Originally posted by craigcpa:
And reception is still sketchy countrywide.
Huh. There is virtually no 5G service nationwide at the moment. Everyone is racing to upgrade all their equipment and add a whole lotta new receiver/transmitters to make 5G possible. Its won't be until sometime in 2020 when 5G starts to really become viable to the masses. But when it does become viable/reliable, 5G has to potential to be a huge game changer when it comes to data communications.

I think he is referring to their 4g LTE service.

I think more precisely he is referring to 4G LTE typically has spacing in the low single digit miles (e.g. 2 miles) in suburban areas but in flat rural areas (less users) the spacing can be 30ish miles. In many areas service sucks because the spacing is too far for the terrain.

5G spacing is between 0.15 and 0.18 miles. Sounds great in an urban or suburban setting (my neighborhood's light poles are closer than this), but how is it going to work in the other 85% of the country?

January 11, 2019, 08:16 AM

craigcpa

Yes to the above. Sprint's "spacing" is questionable, especially in rural areas.

January 11, 2019, 09:09 AM

mutedblade

5G will be more of the same from all the other data carriers that offer 4G LTE. Great for those inside of heavily populated urban areas, but damn near useless everywhere else. Until the carriers extend their coverage to places that don't currently receive cell/data, then I don't see it revolutionizing anything.

January 11, 2019, 09:25 AM

radioman

quote:
Originally posted by mutedblade:
5G will be more of the same from all the other data carriers that offer 4G LTE. Great for those inside of heavily populated urban areas, but damn near useless everywhere else. Until the carriers extend their coverage to places that don't currently receive cell/data, then I don't see it revolutionizing anything.

Supposedly, one of the features of 5G is you don't need to get to a base station. Just to another user's phone (or car) that can get to the base station, and then that user's phone (or car) will "repeat" your signal to the base station. Imagine if every new car was able to receive and repeat cell signals. This alone should improve coverage, but yes, there will still be dead spots as before.

That said, how is this Sprint 5G call so different from a regular cell phone call? really. Why should I be excited about it as if it's some kind of Marconi moment?

January 11, 2019, 09:32 AM

stiab

Having worked for Sprint, I can tell you they have a long and expensive history of introducing technology that nobody wants or can use at the time. Not to say that 5G won't be the norm some day, but for example in the early 2000's they had to write off of their balance sheet $3.2B of technology investment that would not sell.

January 11, 2019, 09:42 AM

sigmonkey

quote:
Originally posted by radioman:... Why should I be excited about it as if it's some kind of Marconi moment?

You obviously never had good Macaroni.

January 11, 2019, 11:23 AM

ShouldBFishin

quote:
Originally posted by dewhorse:
5G is not necessarily for your smart phones, it is more for the IOT (internet of things) due to the lack of latency.

Not saying it will not be used for streaming and such but the real aim is toward driver less cars and such, hence the pico cells going up on light poles all over.

Sprint is trying to increase their sale price before TMO takes them over. As one who is intimately involved with the roll out you wil not see see 5G whole scale until 2020 at least. That will be in pop centers.

No carrier is building 5G right now, they are trialing it and building the infrastructure to build it, they have not even started the MASSIVE channel clearing to support it....also they do not even have handsets for it on a large scale.

oh...almost forgot...Sprint sucks

Just curious - what do you think the chances of 5G infrastructure making it into rural areas by 2021/2022?

Future wife 2.0 (newer and MUCH improved) and I are working on a 2ish year plan to get out into the country and Internet access is a concern (I work from home most days)

January 11, 2019, 11:39 AM

ensigmatic

quote:
Originally posted by radioman:
Supposedly, one of the features of 5G is you don't need to get to a base station. Just to another user's phone (or car) that can get to the base station, and then that user's phone (or car) will "repeat" your signal to the base station.

Cite, please?

I don't know, because I haven't been following 5G developments, at all, but that seems unlikely. If for no other reason than...

quote:
Originally posted by radioman:
Imagine if every new car was able to receive and repeat cell signals.

Imagine how mind-numbingly unreliable such a network would be. Never mind how they'd be able to achieve the high throughput and low latencies they're claiming.

quote:
Originally posted by radioman:
That said, how is this Sprint 5G call so different from a regular cell phone call? really.

Because it's using new technology.

quote:
Originally posted by stiab:
Having worked for Sprint, I can tell you they have a long and expensive history of introducing technology that nobody wants or can use at the time.

Yeah, but Sprint will soon be majority-owned by T-Mobile. T-Mobile has a history of executing.

Besides: Sprint's most notorious screwup was the Nextel acquisition. Other than that, their main problem was having lost their way, after once having been what T-Mobile now is.

January 11, 2019, 04:16 PM

Pipe Smoker

Without the least doubt, 5G is the way forward for the mobile telecoms. And, as I said in my OP, it’s going to give the wired Internet suppliers some real competition. And those bastards sure need some competition.

January 11, 2019, 07:17 PM

frayedends

What I’ve been told is 5G data will allow WiFi hot spots in homes to work better than cable. It will be wireless. It should destroy Comcast and Charter etc. I’ve also been told by a guy working in this technology that it will be here fast. I’m surprised to hear the first call was just made. Verizon is already advertising it as available in a few cities.

January 11, 2019, 07:21 PM

Spokane228

Funny. I’m in the middle of nowhere and the other day I saw a 5g cell on top of a telephone pole.

January 12, 2019, 12:08 AM

bigdeal

quote:
Originally posted by frayedends:
What I’ve been told is 5G data will allow WiFi hot spots in homes to work better than cable. It will be wireless. It should destroy Comcast and Charter etc. I’ve also been told by a guy working in this technology that it will be here fast. I’m surprised to hear the first call was just made. Verizon is already advertising it as available in a few cities.

Verizon is cutting corners and launching 5G network that's not consistent with the new industry standard. They intend to convert over sometime next year when the standardized version of 5G becomes more common. Not exactly sure how that's going to work out for them.

And I'm with you hoping 5G carves into the current wired internet carriers market. That competition should be good for all of us.