Privacy

What Will AT&T’s Upcoming 5G Network Look Like?

In the world of mobile, things move quickly. The first mobile networks started in the 1980s, the 1990s brought GSM, the 2000s were all about 3G, and LTE was “it” just ten years later. As we head toward the next decade milestone, it appears that AT&T’s 5G could be big. But this time, it looks as though this breakthrough will occur before the decade mile marker.

AT&T isn’t the only company working on 5G technology — in fact, they were late to the game. After Verizon made the announcement back in 2015, stating that the company planned to have 5G available in 2017, AT&T dragged its feet. They cited a lack of standards (which won’t even be available until 2018), and resisted the 5G push.

It’s hard for the mobile community to determine future needs, especially considering that 5G will be in use for a few decades. The 5GIC in Guilford (UK) opened in April 2015, and is focused solely on building 5G technology.

AT&T has since changed their tune. No one knows exactly what 5G will do for the world, but AT&T wants to be first. Considering that 2G allowed texting, 3G gave us internet access, and 4G brought about video, everyone is wondering what 5G will do.

5G Tech Has Potential

“New experiences like virtual reality, self-driving cars, robotics, smart cities and more are about to test networks like never before,” said John Donovan (AT&T’s chief strategy officer), in a statement. He believes that “5G will help make them a reality.”

AT&T says that its 5G networks will offer significantly faster speeds than 4G. They also believe there will be less lag between online actions. According to the experts, most of the world won’t even benefit from 5G, whatever it ends up being, until somewhere around 2020.

Some mobile tech experts warn that AT&T may be putting themselves at a disadvantage. What if they are able to offer the technology but nobody is ready for it? It’s the same thing that happened to Sprint back in the 2010s. They were the first US mobile carrier to offer 4G, but it just wasn’t fast enough.

There are a lot of unanswered questions. Will 5G drive up costs? How will 5G affect phone batteries? While waiting to learn the answer, make sure your Android smartphone battery is in tip-top shape. Install PSafe’s PowerPRO to see what apps are draining away all of your power.

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The dfndr blog is an informative channel that presents exclusive content on security and privacy in the mobile and business world, with tips to keep users protected. Populated by a select group of expert reporters, the channel has a partnership with dfndr lab's security team. Together they bring you, first-notice news about attacks, scams, internet vulnerabilities, malware and everything affecting cybersecurity.