Disadvantages of 5G over 4G

The fifth generation of mobile telecommunication technology is 5g. It’s coming. The first tests are going on and 5g will improve transmission speeds, lower latency, and increase capacity for connections to a single tower. In this article, we discuss the Disadvantages of 5g over 4g.

The 5th generation of wireless broadband is being developed to overcome the limitations of the 4th generation. As the latest advancements in telecommunications are introduced, there are countless people who argue about which one is better. Some believe that 5g is not as good as 4g because it offers a lot fewer features.

Disadvantages of 5g over 4g

There are many benefits to the new 5g technology in the environment. But there are also some disadvantages of 5g over 4g such as follows:

1. OBSTRUCTIONS CAN IMPACT CONNECTIVITY

5g technology has a higher number of small cells, but in the very beginning, 5g will not have enough capacity to support the number of users. So installing a 5g hotspot can be difficult. 5G doesn’t have a big range because the frequency waves can only travel a short distance. This problem is made worse by the fact that trees, towers, walls, and buildings, among other things, block 5G frequency.

The high-frequency signals will either be blocked, messed up, or absorbed by the obstacles. To make up for this setback, the telecommunications industry is extending cell towers to send signals farther.

2. INITIAL COSTS FOR ROLLOUT ARE HIGH

Costs will be high for building 5G infrastructure or making changes to existing cellular infrastructure. Major telecom companies have their own 5g standards, which is why the rollout of these networks will differ from one provider to another. Especially in urban areas where there are many cell towers, installing new ones isn’t that expensive.

This amount will go up even more because of the ongoing maintenance costs needed to keep the high-speed connections up and running, and it’s likely that customers will pay most of these high costs. Cell phone companies are trying to cut down on these costs by looking into other options, such as network sharing.

3. Many of the old devices would not be competent for 5G

Most smartphones and laptops have chips that are compatible with 4g, but not 5g. The same goes for other devices such as routers, printers, and many others. We need to replace all of them with a single, costly purchase.

4. 5G TECHNOLOGY IS NOT YET READY FOR IMMEDIATE USE

The 5g technology is not ready for immediate use in some countries. Because it requires a lot of hardware updates and the company will have to upgrade its devices to make the switch to this new technology.

5. LIMITATIONS OF RURAL ACCESS

Cities around the world are preparing for 5g. This technology will give uplink speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second, which is five times faster than 4g. However, when it comes to speed, cities are “t that far behind.

Even though 5G might bring real connectivity to areas that are mostly cities, people who live in rural areas might not benefit from the connection. As of now, many remote parts of the country can’t get any kind of cellular connection. 

The 5G carriers will focus on big cities with lots of people. Eventually, they will move out to the suburbs, but that probably won’t happen any time soon. Because of this, only some people will be able to use 5G communication.

6. BATTERY DRAIN ON DEVICES

The 5g technology might last longer than 4g, but it will drain your battery faster, which will make your device less useful. In addition to that, it’s going to require more power from the batteries. When it comes to cell phones that can connect to 5G, it seems like the batteries can’t last for a long time.

To make this better connectivity possible, battery technology needs to improve so that a single charge can power a cellphone for a full day. Users say that when their phones are on 5G, the batteries run out faster and the phones get extremely hot.

7. UPLOAD SPEEDS DON’T MATCH DOWNLOAD SPEEDS

5g is supposed to offer the same speeds as 4g, but in reality, the uplink speeds are not quite the same as the download speeds. In fact, upload speeds will remain slower than download speeds on 5g. This is because of technological limitations.

With 5G technology, download speeds can reach up to 1.9Gbps, which is very fast. But the upload speeds rarely go above 100Mbps, which isn’t as great as it was made out to be at first. But compared to the current mobile connections, the upload speeds are faster with 4G LTE.

Experts think that even though 5G can have faster download speeds than 4G and 4G LTE, it will have slower upload speeds. Another problem with 5G technology is.

8. The way 5G Works is Very Different than 4G

5g is based on new ways of transmitting high-frequency signals. Unlike 4g, which connects to a tower and then goes through it, 5g connects to a cell tower. To be more specific, 5g links up directly with the cell towers.

9. DETRACTING FROM THE AESTHETICS

One of the most attractive features of 5g is its speed. But sometimes, that speed comes at a cost. Because it can transmit so much data in such a short time, 5 g cell towers have to be much closer together.

Most communities don’t like the idea of putting up more cell phone towers or extending the ones that are already there because they think it makes the area look and feel worse. With 5G, there will be a need for more infrastructure development, which might not be seen as a good thing by the people who live there.

10. More Developing Infrastructure Needs

5g is a developing technology that needs to be developed further before it can be used on a large scale. In order for 5g to be implemented. These Cost of Rollout is much higher than it seemed to be. 

Industry leaders view 5g as a new entity in the wireless communication industry. A lot of the features that are being introduced with this technology are still in their infancy.

11. Security and privacy issues are yet to be solved

The whole 5g communication infrastructure will likely become the target for hackers. The man-in-the-middle attacks that are common to 4G might become a thing of the past, but hackers could still find a way to get into your network.

In addition to that, with this new technology, your providers will be able to track every movement you make while they are connected to the network. That means your location, browsing history and every app that you open will be monitored.

12. Technology is still under Process and Research

Although 5g is a new technology, it’s not fully developed yet. The carriers are currently developing this as a way to save money by sharing the same airwaves, but they won’t get enough 5g spectrum to last a long time.

5G technology is new and there are still some things that need to be worked out. Most countries haven’t even started to implement it yet. This means that the first customers will never have access to it, but the carriers plan on pushing through with it anyway.

13. Costly and Slow Development

5g has a lot of potentials, but it’s very slow in its development process. Developing 5g is costly and also slower than 4g was in its development process.  In order for 5g to work, the carrier must build a new radio tower and the receiver at both ends. They will also need to invest in advanced antennas that can attach to the new technology. This is all very expensive and businesses don’t like paying for expensive upgrades.

14. Affecting Smartphone Technology

5g technology is being built to replace all previous network technologies, but that might not be possible. 5G will also bring a change in how smartphones work. However, that change might not be in the user’s favor.

With 5G, the cell towers will all be close to each other. This means that the antennae on your smartphone will have to have a physical distance from the carrier because it won’t be able to climb over the other antennas.

15. Issue of health hazards from mobile radiation is not yet conclusively clarified

Although there is no clear evidence that cell phones can cause cancer, some studies have shown that they could lead to health problems in people who use them extensively. There is also evidence that linked it to headaches and sleep disorders.

Before the FCC decided to implement 5g, they were planning on asking health experts to conduct a study on the effects of this new technology. However, because of how expensive that would be, they’re not going to do it.

16. More transmission antennas are required for uniform network coverage than with 4G

5g is supposed to be much faster than 4g. However, it might not be as fast as we think it will. It’s also not as fast as 4g was when it was first developed. The reason why is that, unlike 4G, which can connect to towers that are far away from each other, 5g will require many transmission antennas to cover a wide area.

17. Difficulties in Mapping and Designing large-scale 5G Networks

5g requires a lot more mapping and design to be able to fully work. This means that it’s not very easy to design and implement in all areas. Because of how much mapping, designing, and developing is needed for 5g technology, it’s not ready for public use.

Conclusion

My aim in this article is to have discussed the Disadvantages of 5g over 4g as it is currently, as it is being developed, and as it will be implemented and used in the future.