5G Question: How are the different frequencies implemented?

Thread Starter

Beetle_X

Joined Nov 2, 2012
67
Hi,I would like to be better informed on 5G.
Where are the different frequencies used in the same network?
What frequency would the phone use and what frequency would the towers use? Are the repeaters different for dead spots?
If 26ghz has a limited range, is the power boosted to a crazy range>
Thanks!
 

Ya’akov

Joined Jan 27, 2019
9,079
5G uses a lot of the same allocations that 4G used. One major difference is the cell strategy, 5G has many more, lower powered cells. The millimeter wave bands have not been proving very successful, in fact Apple will not be including them in the next iPhone.

The mm wave frequencies do not penetrate building materials well at all. The power is not increased, and because of the more numerous cells, all the frequencies are at reduced power compared to the previous technologies.

The phone and towers operate in the same band in spaced channels. The channels are separated enough to avoid interference with each other. Repeaters are not used, they would cause more problems than the would solve. Nanocells are sometimes used, but they are separately connected to the network using the Internet for backhaul.
 

Thread Starter

Beetle_X

Joined Nov 2, 2012
67
Are all of the antenna looking things, all over the cities an actual 5G tower? They're also on telephone poles as well in the suburbs.
 

Ya’akov

Joined Jan 27, 2019
9,079
Are all of the antenna looking things, all over the cities an actual 5G tower? They're also on telephone poles as well in the suburbs.
Most probably are. It is the advantage of 5G that service is so granular. It is much easier than finding someplace to put a tower and communication shelter.
 

Thread Starter

Beetle_X

Joined Nov 2, 2012
67
While I have your attention I have a few more questions if you don't mind.
I want to see if I can generalize a towers power with the use of a sdr radio. Most sdr radios don't go past 6ghz.Suposidly, the online tower maps will disclose whos tower it is and what is the frequency. That way I could tell which tower is which. If the tower is over 6ghz or 26 like some are supposed to use, I would not be able to pick it up.
 

Ya’akov

Joined Jan 27, 2019
9,079
While I have your attention I have a few more questions if you don't mind.
I want to see if I can generalize a towers power with the use of a sdr radio. Most sdr radios don't go past 6ghz.Suposidly, the online tower maps will disclose whos tower it is and what is the frequency. That way I could tell which tower is which. If the tower is over 6ghz or 26 like some are supposed to use, I would not be able to pick it up.
Anything using mm waves will not be a "tower" if will be a small installation close to the ground like the photo you showed. I am not sure how you would go about getting meaningful field strength measurements but you might be able to get relative numbers when comparing sites.
 

crutschow

Joined Mar 14, 2008
34,285
They're also on telephone poles as well in the suburbs.
Telephone poles?
They are a dying breed.
When all the landlines disappear (in <40% of homes at present, extrapolates to near zero in <10 years), they'll have to find someplace else to mount their antennas. :rolleyes:
 

nsaspook

Joined Aug 27, 2009
13,086
Telephone poles?
They are a dying breed.
When all the landlines disappear (in <40% of homes at present, extrapolates to near zero in <10 years), they'll have to find someplace else to mount their antennas. :rolleyes:
Not very likely. Poles are a lot cheaper than buried comm-links in most places and carry a lot more than just copper-phone loops today.

https://www.elitegroup.com/news-and-insights/will-we-ever-get-rid-of-telephone-poles/
So, while 5G may eliminate the need to have a cable running directly into your house (and so may be the downfall of line rental charges), it will not eliminate the need to have a central, wired network in place.

Accordingly, for the foreseeable future, telephone poles aren’t going anywhere. Which means the good folks at the Telegraph Appreciation Society (a site which gets more than 10,000 visitors a month) can rest easy.
 

Janis59

Joined Aug 21, 2017
1,834
RE: Yakov: ""The mm wave frequencies do not penetrate building materials well at all""
I have all my web connections to city installed via 5G. Distance to tower about 0.7 km (!!) Signal strength - 2 stripes. Signal speed about 300 MBps however often much faster. And then started problems - one minute the movie goes well, then hangs up for the minute or two then again goes, then again hangs. Its so irritating! So I rised new idea, I thought may be the retranslator box at window what is screwed to the wall may happen be orthogonal to the wave plane. I fixed that box horisontally and now everything works brilliantly.
 

MrSalts

Joined Apr 2, 2020
2,767
RE: Yakov: ""The mm wave frequencies do not penetrate building materials well at all""
I have all my web connections to city installed via 5G. Distance to tower about 0.7 km (!!) Signal strength - 2 stripes. Signal speed about 300 MBps however often much faster. And then started problems - one minute the movie goes well, then hangs up for the minute or two then again goes, then again hangs. Its so irritating! So I rised new idea, I thought may be the retranslator box at window what is screwed to the wall may happen be orthogonal to the wave plane. I fixed that box horisontally and now everything works brilliantly.
Now your antenna is no longer aligned with the stud or (more importantly), the iron nail in the stud just an inch or two from your antenna is no longer attenuating the mm-wave signal.
Note: Verizon openly claims in theor 5G coverage map that their "ultra wide band speed 5G" is in limited areas and their slower (broader coverage "Nationwide 5G" will roll over to 4G LTE on devices thst can handle 4G since they are the same speed on Verizon. It seems they let you stay connected as 5G as long as you are not using data (that way, the 5G icon is active. But rolls to 4G. I live in a 5G Nationwide area and, by logging into Verizon, I see I have used 500k of 5G data and 13Gb of 4G LTE.
 
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