TECH

Six questions and answers about the 5G network

Forty years after the launch of the first mobile network, the fifth generation (5G) infrastructure will be commercialized in 2020, stronger and more powerful than the previous ones, but is already embroiled in controversy over suspected Chinese espionage. What is 5G and how does it come about?
The 5G is the fifth generation of mobile network and comes to succeed 1G (created in 1980), 2G (1990), 3G (2000) and 4G (2010).
With the advancement of technology, mobile network infrastructures have also been replaced, since new ones are always more effective and comprehensive than the previous ones.
The 1G was only intended for voice calls and had a speed of 2.4 kilobytes (kbps) per second. The 2G also included text messages and was already 64 kbps per second.
With 3G, at the beginning of the millennium, the speed was 384 kbps per second, including then, in addition to voice calls and written messages, the internet through mobile data.
It was with 4G that we reached mobile broadband at a speed between 100 megabytes (kbps) and one gigabyte (Gbps) per second.
What is expected is that with the 5G, it reaches a speed of at least 10 Gbps per second, allowing the connection of unlimited data anywhere, anytime and in any format.
In this new wireless broadband standard there will be more speed, more coverage and more features.
The new infrastructure, still under development, will be 100 times faster than the previous one, being able to reach even 20 Gbps. This makes for example the fastest tasks, with the download of a movie with a gigabyte that can take less than 10 seconds. What is 5G for?
In addition to being applied to mobile communications, the 5G will still be crucial for everyday areas, but also to leverage other technological advances, particularly in stand-alone cars.
This is because the power of this fifth-generation network goes beyond the speed of 'uploads' and 'downloads' and is mainly based on the reduction of latency, that is, the response time of an appliance from the moment it receives the order until the run.
The lower the latency, the faster the reaction of a remote-operated apparatus.
This applies to appliances and other common appliances, including those that are connected to the Internet, which will be more efficient and can bring benefits in the areas of entertainment, agriculture, industry, health, energy and virtual reality.
In addition, the 5G network will allow more devices to be connected at the same time, multiplying by 100 the number of possible devices.
The issue of latency will also improve the technology associated with autonomous cars, making these vehicles faster in response - even to eventualities - and in information processing.
In environmental terms, there is also a 90% reduction in energy consumption. What are the challenges and obstacles?
Despite the benefits, the 5G network brings a number of challenges, notably to telecommunications companies or mobile phone manufacturers.
The first issue is, in particular, standardization, as requirements have been established for 5G applicable worldwide, which provide that this network is flexible enough to allow the emergence of new services or business models.
This means that the 5G should operate on several electromagnetic bands, such as the 3.4-3.8 Giga-hertz (GHz), 700 mega-hertz (MHz) or 26 GHz, respectively, medium, low and high frequencies.
It should also function equally in populated or rural areas and in more advanced appliances (such as those being built on this fifth mobile generation) or traditional ones.
Furthermore, the need for the 5G to allow greater energy efficiency. What is being done in the EU?
A total of 138 pilot projects for the 5G are underway in the European Union (EU) covering 23 Member States, but one year from the target stipulated by Brussels only almost 7% of the spectrum was attributed.
Taken as an objective of the European Commission six years ago - at which time an action plan for the Member States was launched - 5G is not yet a reality in the EU, but Brussels intends to have it by 2020, when expects to have this network commercially available in at least one city per country.
By 2025, comprehensive coverage of the 5G network is already in place, which is succeeding 4G, being faster and more powerful than the previous one and allowing the connection of more devices simultaneously.
In order to monitor what is being done in each country, the EU executive created the European Observatory for 5G, whereby in January of this year there were 138 pilot projects underway in the EU. objectives of Brussels.
In all, these initiatives cover 23 Member States, including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Projects in the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Slovakia and Slovenia have not been registered until the end of last year, the most recent follow-up report, dated December, says.
Also at that date, the document points to 30 EU cities as "enabled for the 5G network", being, in the case of Portugal, Aveiro.
According to the report, the tests for 5G in the Union "are being done in greater numbers in Spain, France, Germany and Italy", concentrating these countries 40% of the total projects.
On average, six projects are underway in each of the 23 EU countries that are testing the technology, joined by others such as Russia, San Marino, Norway, Turkey and Switzerland, which the European Observatory for 5G adds in the report .
Portugal is below this average, with a total of five tests taking place at the end of last year.
Most of the ongoing tests in the EU are in the media, entertainment, transport and automotive sectors.
As far as the spectrum is concerned, the numbers fall further, since, in December 2018, only 6.7% had been attributed to the operators.
The most commonly attributed electromagnetic range was 3.4-3.8 Giga-hertz (GHz), representing 49% of the total, followed by the 700 mega-hertz (MHz) and 26 GHz bands.
However, at that date, there was no "commercial use of the spectrum for 5G", the document points out, however, recalling that in Finland proceedings were initiated for that by operator Elisa.
Ongoing (ongoing or completed) market surveys in the EU, since the implementation of 5G depends on public-private partnerships, a program initiated by Brussels in 2013 and for which EUR 700 million was research.
In addition to these 200 million euros that Brussels will now devote to studies in areas such as health, energy, among others.
It is estimated that business investment in 5G technology is higher, amounting to almost three billion euros.
The implementation of 5G is, however, a national decision, since it is up to each Member State to decide how it does it.
The report says that in Portugal, an auction for the allocation of the 700 MHz band is expected in the last quarter of 2019.
To enable this technology, a new European electronic communications code was adopted last year. How is the development worldwide?
The 5G network is being developed in several countries around the world, with Asians and the United States more positioned to overcome the technological 'race'.
Although the EU is also in the race, progress is greater outside the Union, as "the United States, Japan, South Korea and China are the main development countries" of this technology, admits the European Observatory to 5G in its most recent follow-up report, dated late last year.
In addition to monitoring what is being done in the EU, this observatory set up by the European Commission follows the bet in the rest of the world, indicating in the report that the Lusa agency had access, that "the United States is a very advanced country in 5G "and AT & T or Verizon operators are expected to market it after testing last year.
China is also "experiencing the 5G", predicting its commercial launch in 2020 through China Unicom and China Telecom, according to the document.
Prior to the second half of this year, 5G is being marketed in South Korea, a country that tested the technology in a limited area of ​​the winter Olympics in February last year in the PyeongChang region.
Next year, this commercial offer is expected to hit Japan with "Japanese operators wanting to launch 5G in time to host the summer Olympics and Paralympics in August 2020," the report said.
"In addition to these countries and the EU, others are planning developments in the 5G, such as India, Australia, Canada, South Africa and the Gulf countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia," according to the same document of the European Observatory.
In the case of India, the commercial launch is only estimated for 2022.
Among the others, "Qatar and United Arab Emirates claim to have been the first to launch the 5G". But "without any 5G device available so far [in these two countries], it seems to have been more of a green light for the infrastructure than a full commercial launch," the report notes. What are the latest controversies?
Besides the operators, there are also several manufacturers that are betting on 5G equipment, among them Ericsson, Huawei, Nokia, Samsung and ZTE, some of which may be launched later this year.
However, China's Huawei is at the heart of the controversy, accused of 13 crimes by US prosecutors, including bank fraud and industrial espionage.
The US Congress has even banned government agencies from buying Huawei products under the National Defense Authorization Act, saying it serves the purpose of Chinese espionage.
At the same time, the country has pressed several others, including Portugal, to exclude Huawei in building infrastructure for 5G networks.
The company has rejected claims about the safety of its 5G technology, insisting that it has no "back doors" to access and control any device without the user's knowledge.
Huawei also said it will sue the US government for banning the purchase of telecommunications equipment by public utilities.
Meanwhile, the secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato), Jens Stoltenberg, said in mid-May that he was considering possible actions against Huawei, taking into account security concerns.
Also at that time, the European Parliament expressed concern about the Chinese technological threat in the EU, urging the European Commission to take action against possible illegal access to data on 5G mobile equipment.
Earlier this week, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on EU countries to ensure free competition for Chinese companies, and denounced attempts to "sink" groups such as Huawei for security reasons. Lusa Agency