We’ve all heard so much fanfare, excitement, and anticipation about the arrival of 5G network technology and what we can expect once it’s the new normal. There’s been some trepidation about it too, and most notably in who we’ll allow to build the 5G network in Canada. We’re going to steer well clear of that topic of discussion, but what we will do is have a look at a recent survey that found that 5G downloads in Canada are fairly darn speedy in comparison to elsewhere.
Here at 4GoodHosting, that’s going to be quite promising for any good Canadian web hosting provider that has a fairly inherent understanding of all the potential that’s going to come with 5G and how pleasing it’s going to be to enjoy it with open-throttle operating speeds. However, the one thing that’s likely the most promising is probably the one aspect people are least enthusiastic about – the IoT (Internet of Things for anyone not familiar with the acronym)
So back to the topic, what went into this determination, and what does all this suggest in the big picture once the rollout of 5G Networks is complete?
All About the Signal
We’ve been told all sorts of what 5G wireless technology may become, but not what it is exactly. Unless you’re a mega tech-savvy person, there might a need to start from the start. 5G networks are the next generation of mobile internet connectivity, and it’s promising to offer connections that are much, much faster and reliable than what was offered with previous mobile technology.
You may not be familiar with what 1 Full gigabyte of download speeds entails, but trust us when we say it’s fast and a LOT faster than what most of us have enjoyed as a standard on 4G. And the good news being that 1Gbps (or darn close to it) speeds are set to become the new standard.
Provided, that is, that you’re running on a good strong signal.
What a 5G network is able to offer will depend in large part on what signal your 5G is running on, and there are three categories of signal bands. You’ll be working with either high-band, mid-band, or low-band signal bands. And before you jump to conclusions about low-band signal bands, you might want to know that they’re better for penetrating walls, which makes them a better choice for condos, basement suites and the like.
Considering how many Canadians in major metro areas live in these type of homes that’s going to be a good thing. We can imagine the sale of Wi-Fi expanders to people who get home to find they do little if anything is going to go down considerably.
Mid-band works is ideal for connectivity in the city, but not in the country. High-band is impressively fast, but it can be unreliable and especially when you’re indoors and have other local factors that are also affecting the signal.
And even while 5G technology is being trumpeted in the most favourable of lights pretty much all over the place, the technology does have its detractors. An entry in the Scientific American journal last year highlighted how more than 240 scientists signed the International EMF Scientist Appeal and expressed their concern about nonionizing radiation attributable to 5G.
5G will use millimeter waves plus microwaves that have been in use for older cellular technologies from 2G all the way through the current 4G. The issue with 5G in this way is that it will require cell antennas every 100 to 200 metres or so, and that’s going to ramp up radiation in a big way. 5G also employs new technologies which pose unique challenges for measuring exposures.
The most well known of these are active antennas capable of beam-forming phased arrays, and massive multiple inputs and outputs, or MIMO as they’re called.
While that’s a very legit concern, however, the old expression ‘you can’t stop progress’ probably really applies here. The potential for good (at least in as far as determining that by what people want) outweighs the potential for bad – at least in the court of public opinion.
Pretty Darn Speedy
Alright, enough about relevant related and background information. People who read the title almost certainly want to know more about Canada coming in second for 5G network speeds.
It’s true, as a company that tests the performance of mobile networks recently analyzed users’ real-world 5G experiences in 10+ different countries to determine who’s enjoying the best 5G network speeds.
Taken into evaluation were users’ average 5G and 4G download speeds measured through various mobile operators, while also weighing time spent on connecting to each generation of wireless technology.
So we’ve already established Canada having the Second fastest 5G network speeds on the planet, but by this point you’re probably thinking when are they going to say who got top spot?
Any guesses?
KSA #1
We’re going to go ahead an imagine none of you envisioned the correct answer being Saudi Arabia here, but it’s true. Right there smack dab in the Middle of the Middle East they were enjoying 144.5Mbps (mega bits per second). Even if that’s the furthest thing from being within your comprehension abilities, trust us when we say that’s pretty much screaming fast.
And with Canada coming second, the truth is that we came in a distant second. Canada did come second with 90.4Mbps, but the different but that’s a difference of nearly 55Mbps and that pretty much makes it qualify as a distant second.
Now we DO imagine that a lot of you would have guessed South Korea based on the fact it’s regarded as the most wired country in the World AND they have the highest adoption rates for 5G networks so far. They did come in the top 5, but what’s also surprising is that the country that came in with the worst score (32.6Mbps) wasn’t a developing country or anything of the like.
It was the UK!
However, the study did find that if they were only examining 5G speeds rather than both 5G and 4G, South Korea moved ahead into second place at 312.7 Mbps and the Saudis retained the top spot with 414.2 Mbps. We Canadians slid back to 5th spot at 178.1 Mbps, trailing Australia (215.7 Mbps) and Taiwan (210.2 Mbps).
And to continue with our trend of surprises here, it was actually the USA that came dead last when looking at 5G speeds exclusively. 50.9 Mbps.
Keep in mind though that these less-than-impressive 5G download speeds in the U.S. are due to a combination of the limited amount of new mid-band 5G spectrum that is available and the continuing popularity of low-band spectrum and its excellent availability and reach but lower average speeds than the 3.5GHz mid-band spectrum used as the main 5G band in every country outside of the U.S.
