Smart Communications recently announced its new LTE-A ‘5G‘ service which got a lot of people talking. Instead of it being good news, many took it in a negative way saying that it’s all just a marketing hype. But what exactly is 5G? Is it really here?
5G describes the upcoming generation of wireless networking. It is not a set of standard specifications that determine if the technology qualifies to be called 5G or not. As of now it is just used to describe the next-gen connectivity since there’s still no solid definition or formal agreement between companies of what it really is. Though this may be the case, 5G is expected to be 100 times faster and 1,000 times the capacity of LTE, faster streaming, and most importantly has the capability to cover wider range.
It is also important to note that experts see this technology being operational on 2020 at the earliest. This is due to the amount of time and money still needed to successfully finish the project.
One of the few handsets today with support for LTE-A is the Singapore-launched Samsung Galaxy S5 4G+ and there are no news of its local availability yet. Because of this, a lot of Filipinos still can’t make use of this new technology here in the country. The announcement of this service in the Philippines also reached overseas and attracted attention from an international site calling it a “bogus 5G technology.”
In Smart’s defense, one of the entries on their website’s FAQs section asks this:
“I heard that LTE-A is not 5G – is this true?”
To which Smart answers:
“LTE-Advanced is the next stage of development of LTE that offers significantly higher data speeds. It has been referred to, in some markets like the United States, as 5G. This means faster Internet downloading and video streaming, among other capabilities.”
What we’re seeing here is that the term 5G, as of now, still has a wide scope of definition making it easy to use loosely.
For us, having LTE-A or “5G” is still good news. The thing is, if there will still be Fair Usage Policy (and we’re pretty sure data capping will still be implemented) for its subscribers, having faster-than-average connection won’t do much good as it cannot be maximized – it’s just like being handed a key to a nice house that you can only live in for once a month.
Besides, many subscribers have yet to even taste the actual speed of LTE/4G in the country because of the limited coverage so the talk for 5G could only add salt to injury.
What do you think of Smart’s 5G technology? We put up a poll below just in case you want to share your thoughts on the subject. Do you believe Smart’s claim about their 5G connectivity?
YugaTech.com is the largest and longest-running technology site in the Philippines. Originally established in October 2002, the site was transformed into a full-fledged technology platform in 2005.
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spiderman says:
Di nga nila madefine ng maayos yung 4G eh… Sabagay, sila lang naman ang may definition na 42MBPS as 4G, wherein speed lang yun ng 3G
commsfag says:
when telecom generations do a big increment, it’s not just about the speed but the underlying technology behind it.
2G is GSM (using TDM) has EDGE as 2.5G
3G is UMTS (using WCDMA) has HSPA/HSPA+/HSPA+DC as 3.5G (not 4G!)
4G is LTE (using FDD/TDD LTE) which we can say that LTE-A is “4.5G”
speed is much more complex as it also tackles the underlying IP backbone problem here in the Philippines. it would mean much to the users if those big companies are open to IP peering.
archie says:
Big bullshit. Even Google never classified their fiber speed as 5G. Talamak talaga sa misinformation ang Smart tulad ng ginawa nila noong ads para sa SmartBro. Dapat mapenalize ang stupid marketing department nila sa false advertisements na pinapakalat nila.
vm says:
aside from the controversy about the naming, will there be an improvement once we all shift to LTE-A???
its not impossible, if you ignore the cap
Telco Engineer says:
hey Yuga, do some research and dont just publish articles which are based on the marketing strategy of these wireless operators. http://www.3gpp.org is a body that standardized all these technologies.
In summary,
3G – WCDMA/UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA/HSPA(bitrate 3.6Mbps – 7Mbps)
3.5G – HSPA+/HSPA DC(bitrate 7, 14, 21 and 42 Mbps)
3.9G – LTE (Long Term Evolution) and LTE 4G+ (Carrier Aggregation) similar to HSPA+ DC. Typical Speed is 3.6 Mbps up to 300Mbps depends on Bandwith (Operator Spectrum) and Antenna (MIMO)configurations.
4G – LTE – Advance with maximum of 1gbps bitrate
Technically, Smart only reaches 205Mbps, it could only using LTE+ with maximum of 300Mbps.
BR, Singapore based Telco Engineer
bennoda shinnington says:
Is either AT&T or Verizon called their LTE-A network as 5G? No. LTE-A is still 4G but twice as fast as the original LTE. May konti ako alam dyan since last year pa. Do some research naman, kahit Wikipedia lang. :)
Noy says:
So far, wala akong nakitang US Cellular Companies ang gumagamit ng term na 5G. Pero, gumamit din ang AT-T (ang nagiisang Cellular Company sa US na nagproprovide ng LTE-A) ng kaparehang technology pareha sa Smart at sa ibang companies sa ibang bansa. Kahit nga sila (AT-T) hindi gumamit ng 5g na term. NAPAKAMALI lang talaga ng ginawa ng Smart. Parang finofool nila yung ibang tao kung gamitin nila ang ter na 5G. At ngayan, LG G3 Cat. 6 at Samsung Galaxy S5 LTE-A lang po ang may capabilities na gamitin ang technology na nasa LTE Advance o LTE-A.
AmoyClorox says:
since college smart ako but due to its poor performance recently i changed to globe i must say for me globe exp was better than Smart so thia Marketing claima that they are offering is a big Mktg Strategy! They cant even let all areas capable of LTE then they are introducing this 5G big lie Smart!
tugudugs says:
The 5G is the current network being developed by the korea partnership with the europe that will be released many years from now.The 5g that the smart talking about is just an advertisement, quit fooling people and quickly fixed the internet speed GLOBE AND SMART.
Telco Engr 2 says:
Well, what’s the hype of this article? This issue seems to be out of hand thanks to the editors who’s publishing sh*tty article before they actually go through every details of it. The heck with this 5G advertised by SMART,when even their 3G and 4G data speed were below par with neighboring country offering the same services. Makabanat lang ng 5G amf..Kung may tga GLOBE dto, mag advertised kayo ng 6G para mas masaya..
Br, RF Engineer SG
TessPinga2 says:
Grabe. Ayaw tumigil ng yugatech. Nagkamali na nga, jinjustify pa!
TessPinga2 says:
Oo nga sana mag announce na ang Globe na may 6G na sila! Hahahah
mema says:
5G na kasing bilis lang ng 2G or 3G ng ibang bansa. mehhhh. Next year siguro sasabihin nila na naka 6G na sila, unahan na ang ibang bansa. Hahaha. Ewan ko na talaga sa SMART parang hindi sila entitled maging “SMART” lol. Matalino lang sila gumawa ng false advertising.
Paul says:
Jesus Maria Joseph!!! Kung meron pa ring FUP ‘yang 5g na yan, wala din yan! Bulok na telcos.
Disappointed says:
I really enjoy reading the articles by Yugatech. But it appears that they have sold their soul to MVP. Stop using Smart’s press release as a point of argument. Even US telcos are accused of misleading paying customers with the 5G gimmick.
jape says:
tae
RaGe says:
syempre bayad ng Smart eh…
vm says:
this is no different from shady characters a few years ago that were selling … well small portable battery powered devices that have flash memory and on that flash memory you can place files and those files can be turned by the device into sound via earphones.
they would entice people by saying, bos palitan mo na ang Ipod mo, laos na yan. Ito ang latest, mp5 player
Greg says:
Proves that LSD is still alive and well in this modern world. Delusional ang Smart.
Shut The Front Door! says:
E eto ngang 3G/HSPA nila grabe 17 kbps pag nagdadownload ako, hindi nagoopen ang websites ng deretso grabe, malapit na akong mag give up sa Internet at go into some sports na lang. Bagal sobra!
easy e says:
What can you expect from someone who has a ‘digital film making’ background? Syempre limited ang knowledge nyan sa technology. Hype lang ang alam nyan or ‘surface’ lang. But all those fundamental levels of technology, hindi nya alam yan. Iba talaga if you have formal background or years of experience on these fields.
Well this is a challenge for the senior editor of yuga to be more careful next time about the stories he write here. Aral-aral din.
crash says:
Buti na lang may psiphon, kahit papano nakakabawi sa mga GLOBE at SMART..
YunOh! says:
Sus!! Signal nga namin sa bulacan ng smart 2G lang eh… Buti pa globe may H+ nakukuha… Ayusin muna nila data signal nila…
sylphy says:
2G+3G=5G..haha very Smart!
aosdoa says:
eto ung FB ng culprit ng yugatech.. Dapat di sya nag pupublish ng mga ganito. wala naman sya alam dito. pabibo masyado to!
Kevin Bruce Francisco
https://www.facebook.com/bimbutch?fref=ts
dan 5g says:
How can SMART claim to have 5g when they have the license from NTC? Only PINOY TELEKOMS is the authorized licensee to distribute 5g to 10g in the country.
teody says:
naku propaganda lang iyan ng smart. napakatagal na nila sa industry pero til ngayon PALPAK pa rin speed nila sa internet. nakakadismaya! 3G nga nagpapakita na signal sa phone pero mas mabagal pa sa EGDE ang downloading. buti pa si Globe malapit sa katotohanan ang mga inaadvertised na internet speed. ( pero di pa ako contento dahil sa data cap.) Yaman ng smart di man lang maupgrade pasilidad sa bawat bayan. may discrimination nga e. pag city ang isang lugar naa-upgrade pero pag bayan lang na simple e walang karapatan sa magandang serbisyo. kaya wag magtaka si SMART kung di mabawi ang mga subscriber ditto sa Cabatauan, Isabela. Buti na lang meron ang SUn na kasangga rito para sa UNLI call and text. pero sa net connection NEVER … walang puwang..
theo says:
THE 5G REVOLUTION
– 1,000 times faster than the 4G
– Speeds of up to 1gbps
– 800-megabyte movie file downloaded in less than one second
– Trial 5G service will be rolled out in South Korea in 2017
– Fully commercial service in December 2020
– Chinese manufacturer Huawei looking at a 5G rollout by 2020
source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2545831/South-Korea-launch-5G-service-fast-users-download-entire-film-just-ONE-SECOND.html
tedz says:
pasikat lang ang smart. sa katunayan bulok ang serbisyo particular na sa net connection. false signal naman narerecieve ko ditto sa cabatuan, Isabela. 3G ang nakikita ko sa cp pero kasinbagal naman ng pagong ang downloading/uploading. kaasar lang. dami nilang kita araw-araw di man lang makpagbigay ng good service. KAYA BINITAWAN KA SMART NG TAGA CABATUAN DAHIL SA POOR SERVICE SA NET CONNECTION. Buti pa ang globe malapit sa katotohanan ang mga advertisement nila.
rasilbato says:
ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS CALL NTC. YOU WILL FIND OUT THAT SMART DOES NOT HAVE 5G BROADBAND. WHAT SMART HAS IS NARROWBAND ONLY TO DISTRUBUTE 3G UPTO LTE. 5G TO 10G IS BEING DISTRIBUTED BY ANOTHER COMPANY NOT BY SMART NOR BY GLOBE. I WAS INFORMED BY NTC THAT PINOY TELEKOMS IS THE ONLY AUTHORIZED LICENSEE.
zarne says:
SMART has 5G…. and I think I saw ELVIS PRESLEY walking out from their building.
Alfred Aquino says:
In developed countries such as US and Europe, and other developed countries in Asia, 5G is still in the process of development. How come the Philippines who has the slowest speed in SEA and one of the worst in the world will have this 5G technology. Smart cannot even upgrade their system for a better 3G, how much more 5G technology. Smart Telcom is lying.
ToQ-1 says:
Instead of introducing newer technologies, I think they should be working on the quality of their internet service. If they improved their service to a point where people no longer complain about slow internet, then they can start introducing newer techs for the benefit of their subscribers.
ROA says:
http://www.androidauthority.com/wireless-carrier-already-pushing-bogus-5g-technology-512616/
Smart believes that their LTE-A network is deemed 5G by “leading global operators” yet you won’t find any significant organizational agreement on that definition. But that won’t stop the 5G hype from continuing to grow. Some researchers want the US to open up wave bands to start encouraging research if we are to “keep pace.”
Mir says:
5G daw? ni 3G nga sa place namin wala. e sa globe HSPA+ 13Mbps max pa net ko.
Mirror says:
Sa amin, ang smart na 3G mas mabilis pa kaysa LTE ng Globe. Though I doubt if this 5G really occurs, but 1 thing is for sure based sa observation ko, mas mabilis ang smart than globe.