tag:theconversation.com,2011:/es/topics/3g-15798/articles3G – The Conversation2022-10-04T15:05:21Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1916362022-10-04T15:05:21Z2022-10-04T15:05:21ZFracking: the simple test for whether it should happen in the UK<p>The UK’s new prime minister, Liz Truss, recently <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-government-takes-next-steps-to-boost-domestic-energy-production">announced</a> the reversal of the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-ends-support-for-fracking">2019 ban</a> on fracking. Facing an acute energy crisis, the government want to increase domestic energy production. </p>
<p>According to conventional economic theory, whether or not fracking should occur is simple. If the private benefits exceed the social costs, then fracking companies should be able to obtain local consent by compensating households with cash. If the costs are so large that households cannot be compensated, then fracking should not happen.</p>
<p>Yet in recent history fracking has occurred irrespective of whether there is a public appetite. In 2016, the government <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/oct/06/uk-fracking-given-go-ahead-as-lancashire-council-rejection-is-overturned">permitted</a> fracking at <a href="https://cuadrillaresources.uk/our-sites/preston-new-road/">Fylde’s Preston New Road site</a>, overturning Lancashire county council’s initial rejection. </p>
<p>The current approach echoes this. Despite <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lancashire-63073928">announcing</a> that fracking will only take place where there is local consent, guidance on how this will be gauged is unclear. A framework for transparent cost-benefit analysis on prospective extraction sites has so far <a href="https://www.ukpol.co.uk/jacob-rees-mogg-2022-statement-on-shale-gas-extraction/">not been introduced</a>.</p>
<p>Fracking in the UK has a difficult history. However, if fracking is to play a role in the country’s future, how should it unfold?</p>
<h2>Calculating fracking’s worth</h2>
<p>The first step is to estimate how much companies are willing to pay for the right to explore for and extract shale gas in a given area. This represents fracking’s private benefit. </p>
<p>The introduction of <a href="https://www.itu.int/itunews/issue/2000/09/the_dawn.html">3G mobile communication services</a> in the UK illustrates how this can be done. How much mobile operators valued a license to provide 3G was unknown, but overcharging might have delayed the development of critical communications infrastructure.</p>
<p>An <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/0895330027166">auction</a> was held, allowing mobile operators to bid competitively until each of the five licenses were allocated to the highest bidder. The auction raised £22.5 billion and established precisely how much companies valued the licenses. </p>
<p>Auctions have become regular practice in UK utility markets. Renewable energy companies <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/contracts-for-difference/contract-for-difference">compete</a> for contracts to produce electricity. The bidder offering electricity at the lowest price is paid a flat rate for their production over the next fifteen years, insulating them from volatile market prices. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A fishing boat in front of an offshore wind farm against a deep sunset sky." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/487854/original/file-20221003-9808-k7g16f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/487854/original/file-20221003-9808-k7g16f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487854/original/file-20221003-9808-k7g16f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487854/original/file-20221003-9808-k7g16f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487854/original/file-20221003-9808-k7g16f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487854/original/file-20221003-9808-k7g16f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487854/original/file-20221003-9808-k7g16f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Auctions have become regular practice in UK utility markets.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/fishing-boat-wind-turbines-135915140">ShaunWilkinson/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Through a similar process, it would be possible to accurately determine the value of shale gas extraction in the UK. For each potential extraction site, fracking firms could bid competitively for exclusive drilling rights. The winning bid would be legally bound to an upfront payment to the local authority in the case that consent is given.</p>
<h2>Involving local consent</h2>
<p>The second part of the process should then determine whether firms’ valuation of shale gas extraction is higher than the social cost. </p>
<p>The costs associated with fracking are high. Shale gas is mostly methane, a fossil fuel <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-the-geological-science-of-shale-gas-fracturing">with high carbon emissions</a>. </p>
<p>Its extraction also involves drilling using a high pressure mixture of water, sand and chemicals. Fracking in the UK has been <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-47816810">linked</a> to several local earthquakes as a result. The process also produces highly saline <a href="https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2018/ew/c7ew00474e">wastewater</a> that must be disposed of. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://yougov.co.uk/topics/science/trackers/should-britain-start-extracting-shale-gas">recent survey</a> shows just 27% of Britons support fracking. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1574685708920528896"}"></div></p>
<p>However, <a href="https://www.lancs.live/news/cost-of-living/lancashire-residents-who-back-fracking-24904173">reports</a> indicate that fracking firms are currently <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/about-shale-gas-and-hydraulic-fracturing-fracking/developing-shale-oil-and-gas-in-the-uk#regulation">obtaining consent</a> in Lancashire by negotiating directly with individual households. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0095069622000353">Research</a> into the Texan fracking industry shows that this approach underestimates the social cost. Fracking companies generally have a greater knowledge of their own industry and the legalities of licensing law than households. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488011/original/file-20221004-12-okpt28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A close-up shot of a gas drilling unit in a rugged arid landscape against a cloudy blue sky." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488011/original/file-20221004-12-okpt28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488011/original/file-20221004-12-okpt28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488011/original/file-20221004-12-okpt28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488011/original/file-20221004-12-okpt28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488011/original/file-20221004-12-okpt28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488011/original/file-20221004-12-okpt28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488011/original/file-20221004-12-okpt28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In Texas, fracking companies obtain consent by negotiating directly with households.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/west-texas-pumping-unit-1104529418">Sean Hannon acritelyphoto/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>The researchers also found that factors including language, poverty and race also determined how much compensation a household received. In Texas, non-native English speakers generally received comparatively low compensation, while their contracts were 10% less likely to contain environmental, noise or road traffic clauses.</p>
<p>To avoid this issue, county or city councils could instead grant approval if they deem the compensation offered to local residents as sufficiently high. Councils generally command greater <a href="https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2017-11/trust-in-professions-veracity-index-2017-slides.pdf">public trust</a> than national politicians and through local consultations, a more precise estimate of fracking’s cost to local residents can be gauged. </p>
<h2>Does fracking make economic sense?</h2>
<p>By comparing valuations of the costs and benefits, a decision on whether there is a case for fracking can be made. If the industry believes there is an abundance of shale gas to extract, then it may well resume.</p>
<p>However, there are <a href="https://theconversation.com/fracking-if-liz-truss-wants-a-major-shale-gas-industry-she-is-280-million-years-late-190421">doubts</a> over whether Britain has enough shale gas reserves for fracking to become commercially viable. The British Geological Survey <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-11653-4.pdf">reported</a> in 2019 that the UK has ten times less shale gas reserves than the level cited by fracking advocates. </p>
<p>Since then, the scientific evidence has not changed and even the UK shale gas industry has recognised fracking’s minimal value. Shale gas executives are <a href="https://twitter.com/DrSimEvans/status/1495699340819668994">cautious</a> not to claim that the UK industry can cut soaring energy bills. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261918301764">Questions</a> remain over the economic viability of UK fracking. However, if it is to have a future then this should be determined by a system of formal compensation and consent. This way, if shale gas extraction in the UK is as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/21/fracking-wont-work-uk-founder-chris-cornelius-cuadrilla">futile</a> as the science suggests, then it will not happen.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191636/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Renaud Foucart does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Fracking in the UK has a difficult history – economic theory suggests that whether fracking should occur is a simple case of consent and compensation.Renaud Foucart, Senior Lecturer in Economics, Lancaster University Management School, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1767812022-02-22T13:42:53Z2022-02-22T13:42:53ZWhat is 3G and why is it being shut down? An electrical engineer explains<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447377/original/file-20220218-19-1gyfpm0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5887%2C3904&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The sun is setting on 3G networks.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/frted/50211584991/">Ted/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>On Feb. 22, 2022, AT&T <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/plan-ahead-phase-out-3g-cellular-networks-and-service">is scheduled to turn off</a> its 3G cellular network. T-Mobile is scheduled to turn its off on July 1, 2022, and Verizon is slated to follow suit on Dec. 31, 2022.</p>
<p>The vast majority of cellphones in service operate on 4G/LTE networks, and the world has begun the transition to 5G, but <a href="https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-11-05/column-5g-wireless-transition">as many as 10 million phones</a> in the U.S. still rely on 3G service. In addition, the cellular network functions of <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22912235/3g-shutting-down-att-verizon-tmobile">some older devices</a> like Kindles, iPads and Chromebooks are tied to 3G networks. Similarly, some older internet-connected systems like home security, car navigation and entertainment systems, and solar panel modems are 3G-specific. Consumers will need to <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22912235/3g-shutting-down-att-verizon-tmobile">upgrade or replace</a> these systems.</p>
<p>So why are the telecommunications carriers turning off their 3G networks? As an electrical engineer who <a href="http://www.ece.tufts.edu/%7Emaivu/">studies wireless communications</a>, I can explain. The answer begins with the difference between 3G and later technologies such as 4G/LTE and 5G.</p>
<p>Picture a family trip. Your spouse is on the phone arranging activities to do at the destination, your teenage daughter is streaming music and chatting with her friends on her phone, and her younger sibling is playing an online game with his friends. All those separate conversations and data streams are communicated over the cellular network, seemingly simultaneously. You probably take this for granted, but have you ever wondered how the cellular system can handle all those activities at the same time, from the same car?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447385/original/file-20220219-7720-1sa1ix3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Three children in the backseat of a car use tablet devices" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447385/original/file-20220219-7720-1sa1ix3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447385/original/file-20220219-7720-1sa1ix3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447385/original/file-20220219-7720-1sa1ix3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447385/original/file-20220219-7720-1sa1ix3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447385/original/file-20220219-7720-1sa1ix3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447385/original/file-20220219-7720-1sa1ix3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447385/original/file-20220219-7720-1sa1ix3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How does it work when everyone in your car is using cellular voice and data service at the same time, and so are many of the people in the cars around you?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/siblings-using-digital-tablet-in-back-seat-of-car-royalty-free-image/1297084394">The Good Brigade/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Communicating all those messages</h2>
<p>The answer is a technological trick called <a href="https://www.electronicdesign.com/technologies/communications/article/21802209/electronic-design-fundamentals-of-communications-access-technologies-fdma-tdma-cdma-ofdma-and-sdma#%E2%80%9DOFDMA%E2%80%9D">multiple access</a>. Imagine using a sheet of paper to write messages to 100 different friends, one private message for each person. The multiple access technology used in 3G networks is like writing every message to each of your friends using the whole sheet of paper, so all the messages are written on top of each other. But you have a special set of pens with different colors that allows you to write each message in a unique color, and each of your friends has a special pair of glasses that reveals only the color intended for that person.</p>
<p>However, the number of colored pens is fixed, so if you want to send messages to more people than the number of colored pens you have, you will need to start mixing colors. Now when a friend applies their special lenses, they will see a little bit of the messages to other friends. They won’t see enough to read the other messages, but the overlap might be enough to blur the message intended for them, making it harder to read.</p>
<p>The multiple access technology used by 3G networks is called Code Division Multiple Access, or CDMA. It was invented by Qualcomm founder <a href="https://www.invent.org/inductees/irwin-mark-jacobs#:%7E:text=NIHF%20Inductee%20Irwin%20Mark%20Jacobs%20Invented%20CDMA%20Technology">Irwin M. Jacobs</a> with several other prominent electrical engineers. The technique is based on the concept of spread spectrum, an idea that can be <a href="https://www.americanscientist.org/article/random-paths-to-frequency-hopping">traced back to the early 20th century</a>. Jacobs’ <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/289411?casa_token=F0fopuxled0AAAAA:fRxNKBHn6n4t6jdDbfwCFJ26gXM_DxKH8QMzJMdWUwgh4_oGcEFf9Y6MgqSqmzU9Rxn_Eyzc9A">1991 paper</a> showed that CDMA can increase the cellular capacity manyfold over systems at the time.</p>
<p>CDMA lets all cellular users send and receive their signals at all times and over all frequencies. So if 100 users wish to initiate a call or use a cell service at around the same time, their 100 signals will overlap with each other over the entire cellular spectrum for the whole time they communicate.</p>
<p>The overlapping signals create interference. CDMA solves the interference problem by letting each user have a unique signature: a code sequence that can be used to recover each user’s signal. The code corresponds to the color in our paper analogy. If there are too many users on the system at the same time, the codes can overlap. This leads to interference, which gets worse as the number of users increases.</p>
<h2>Slices of time and spectrum</h2>
<p>Instead of allowing users to share the entire cellular spectrum at all times, other multiple access techniques divide access by time or frequency. Division over time creates time slots. Each connection can last over multiple time slots spread out in time, but each time slot is so short – a matter of milliseconds – that the cellphone user doesn’t perceive the interruptions from alternating time slots. The connection appears to be continuous. This time slicing technique is time-division multiple access (TDMA).</p>
<p>The division can also be done in frequency. Each connection is given its own frequency band within the cellular spectrum, and the connection is continuous for its duration. This frequency slicing technique is frequency division multiple access (FDMA).</p>
<p>In our paper analogy, FDMA and TDMA are like dividing the paper into 100 strips in either dimension and writing each private message on one strip. FDMA would be, for example, horizontal strips, and TDMA would be vertical strips. With individual strips, all messages are separated.</p>
<p>4G/LTE and 5G networks use Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), a highly efficient combination of FDMA and TDMA. In the paper analogy, OFDMA is like drawing strips along both dimensions, dividing the whole paper into many squares, and assigning each user a different set of squares according to their data need.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447363/original/file-20220218-49929-6p63vs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="a graph in four parts, two showing stripes, one showing layers and another showing squares" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447363/original/file-20220218-49929-6p63vs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447363/original/file-20220218-49929-6p63vs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=298&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447363/original/file-20220218-49929-6p63vs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=298&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447363/original/file-20220218-49929-6p63vs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=298&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447363/original/file-20220218-49929-6p63vs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447363/original/file-20220218-49929-6p63vs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447363/original/file-20220218-49929-6p63vs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Different techniques for sharing access to wireless network resources.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/21/3/273/htm">Entropy 2019, 21(3), 273</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>End of the line for 3G</h2>
<p>Now you have a basic understanding of the difference between 3G and the later 4G/LTE and 5G. You might still reasonably ask why 3G needs to be shut down. It turns out that because of those differences in the access technology, the two networks are built using completely different equipment and algorithms. </p>
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<p>3G handsets and base stations operate on a wideband system, meaning they use the whole cellular spectrum. 4G/LTE and 5G operate on narrowband or multi-carrier systems, which use slices of the spectrum. These two systems need completely different sets of hardware, from the antenna on the cell tower down to the components in your phone. </p>
<p>So if your phone is a 3G phone, it cannot connect to a 4G/LTE or 5G tower. For a long while, the cellular service providers have been keeping their 3G networks going while building a completely separate network with new tower equipment and servicing new handsets using 4G/LTE and 5G. Imagine bearing the cost of operating two separate networks at the same time for the same purpose. Eventually, one has to go. And now, as the carriers are starting to deploy 5G systems in earnest, that time has come for 3G.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/176781/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mai Vu receives funding from National Science Foundation. </span></em></p>As the wireless telecommunications companies ramp up their 5G rollouts, they are beginning to pull the plug on their 3G networks. 2022 is the end of the line for the venerable cellphone service.Mai Vu, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Tufts UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/961652018-05-17T10:42:27Z2018-05-17T10:42:27ZWhat is 5G? The next generation of wireless, explained<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/218509/original/file-20180510-184630-pu4bgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">How fast will mobile data get?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/businessman-surfing-internet-tablet-263740583">alphaspirit/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every decade or so, <a href="http://www.3gpp.org/">the wireless industry</a> rolls out a new cellular <a href="https://www.itu.int/">communications standard</a> that can transmit more data more quickly. <a href="http://www.3gpp.org/news-events/3gpp-news/1929-nsa_nr_5g">Already under development</a> is the <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-R/study-groups/rsg5/rwp5d/imt-2020/Pages/default.aspx">next round</a>, called “5G” because it’s the fifth major generation of these standards for encoding and transmitting data over radio waves.</p>
<p>The first generation, retroactively called 1G, was a <a href="http://ijmcr.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Paper11100-1103.pdf">fully analog system for transmitting voice</a>. In contrast, 2G phones transmitted voice and data digitally. Subsequent generations, <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/imt-2000/Pages/default.aspx">3G in 2000</a> and <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-R/study-groups/rsg5/rwp5d/imt-adv/Pages/submission-eval.aspx">4G in 2010</a>, made technical improvements that brought data rates up from 200 kilobits per second to <a href="https://www.straitstimes.com/tech/starhub-increases-4g-mobile-broadband-peak-speeds-to-1gbps-in-selected-parts-of-singapore">hundreds of megabits per second</a>. With 2020 approaching, 5G is expected to transmit 1 gigabit per second – and perhaps <a href="https://5g.co.uk/guides/how-fast-is-5g/">as many as 10</a>.</p>
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<p>Being able to send and receive that much data so quickly opens new opportunities for augmented and virtual reality systems, as well as automation. </p>
<p>For instance, <a href="https://theconversation.com/saving-lives-by-letting-cars-talk-to-each-other-59221">self-driving cars could communicate with each other</a>, road signs, traffic signals, guard rails and other elements human drivers simply see. That would require an additional technical leap – reducing what is called “latency,” or the <a href="https://arxiv.org/pdf/1708.02562.pdf">delay between when a signal is sent</a> and when it’s received, to 1 millisecond. (If a network’s data rate is how wide a garden hose is, latency is how long it takes from the moment the spigot is turned on until water comes out the end.)</p>
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<p>Achieving high data rates with low latency requires a number of technical changes, including sending data <a href="https://www.qualcomm.com/invention/technologies/5g-nr/mmwave">using higher radio frequencies</a> and designing arrays of antennas to reduce interference between <a href="https://5g.co.uk/guides/what-is-massive-mimo-technology/">many devices all communicating at the same time</a>. Together these add up to a 5G network with <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/video/telecom/wireless/5g-bytes-small-cells-explained">many more base stations</a> – each of which is physically smaller than a current cellular tower and placed much more closely together. 5G base stations could be placed <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/video/telecom/wireless/5g-bytes-small-cells-explained">every 250 meters</a>, rather than the every 1 to 5 km needed for 4G.</p>
<p>In addition, 5G systems offer the possibility of providing reliable connections to massive numbers of wireless devices simultaneously. This could enable a huge expansion of the number of “internet of things” devices in use, monitoring nutrients in soil for farmers, package locations for shipping companies and vital signs for hospital patients, for instance.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/at-t-to-provide-5g-to-12-markets-by-end-of-2018-fibre-to-82-metros-by-mid-2019/">Early 5G networks</a> are <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/verizon-5g-to-launch-in-sacramento-in-2018/">being rolled out now</a> in some U.S. cities. The Tokyo Olympics in 2020 are supposed to present the very <a href="https://qz.com/1215328/mwc-2018-5gs-coming-out-party-will-be-the-tokyo-2020-olympics-according-to-intel/">first showcase of the full range of what 5G technology</a> can offer. Between now and then – and even beyond – companies rolling out 5G networks will deploy a new technology while it’s still evolving, as they did with earlier generations.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/96165/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jan Rabaey receives funding from government agencies such as DARPA. Many of the wireless companies such as Ericsson, Nokia, Qualcomm, Alcatel/Lucent, Huawei, Apple, and others have been contributing member companies of the Berkeley Wireless Research Center, of which Prof. Rabaey is a founding director.</span></em></p>In this Speed Read, learn the difference between 3G, 4G and 5G, and why it matters.Jan Rabaey, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of California, BerkeleyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/490822015-12-07T11:59:20Z2015-12-07T11:59:20ZWhy ‘no signal’ appears in towns as well as the countryside – and what could help<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104662/original/image-20151207-3128-1l0jea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">No signal in a city or on a train? Here's why.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dubova/shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>According to a <a href="http://www.itpro.co.uk/mobile/25674/over-4500-miles-of-uk-roads-are-without-phone-signal">RAC survey</a> more than 4,500 miles of roads in Britain are out of range of any mobile phone network, while 14,500 miles lack any high-speed 3G coverage. In a rich developed country like the UK mobile phone coverage might be seen as a basic necessity, but in many areas it’s still lacking.</p>
<p>We have become so accustomed to being connected everywhere and anywhere that when we get “no signal” it’s frustrating, and we feel uncomfortable about being disconnected. What’s really frustrating is that signal can disappear not just in rural villages or country roads, but <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/technology/mobile-phone-signals-bad-four-5919505">inside buildings in towns</a> or in the middle of capital cities, where we’d expect it to be strong.</p>
<p>The mobile phone network is a very complex and expensive infrastructure, with a huge number of subscribers. There are <a href="http://www.mobilemastinfo.com/stats-and-facts/stats-and-facts.html">around 90m subscribers in the UK</a>, more than there are people, and an <a href="https://gsmaintelligence.com/research/2014/05/measuring-mobile-penetration/430/">estimated 7 billion worldwide</a>. Alongside the internet itself, it is one of the most expensive and generally reliable electronic systems on Earth.</p>
<p>Mobile phone networks use the microwave part of the electromagnetic spectrum, <a href="http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archive/ra/topics/pmc/document/licencetypes/cellularinfo.htm">between 800MHz and 2.2GHz</a>. These microwaves spread well in free space, but not over very long distances, or through walls or thick barriers, and very poorly around corners. With that in mind, it becomes a bit more clear why we find ourselves with “no signal”.</p>
<h2>In the city</h2>
<p>A city has a vast number of surfaces that can <a href="http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/technology-research/2014/building-materials-propagation/Building_Materials_and_Propagation.pdf">reflect, absorb, and scatter</a> microwave transmissions, often in an unpredictable way. What’s needed is the proper placement of transmitting base stations so that the signal is repeated and passed on. Out in the open in good conditions this is no problem. But in densely built-up areas, particularly those with skyscrapers or other enormous buildings often made of reflective materials, “dead zones” appear, where microwaves are blocked.</p>
<p>Something similar happens when we walk inside a building. The microwaves have to penetrate many walls to reach our mobile phone’s antenna, each of which absorbs part of their energy leaving the signal weaker until it fades away entirely.</p>
<h2>In the countryside</h2>
<p>We might accept that full coverage deep inside a building is not an easy matter, but what about when we’re out in the open countryside with no obstacles around? The answer is that they’re are simply not enough base stations to provide complete coverage to the <a href="http://www.whatsag.com/G/Understanding_4G.php">most modern transmission standards</a> (such as 4G), or even at all. Mobile phone infrastructure is erected by commercial companies, and in areas where there are few people it is difficult to sustain the investment.</p>
<p>The same problems affect mobile phone signal when travelling by train or on many roads – there are not enough base stations sufficiently close to the railway to provide the minimum level of signal our phones require. Coverage is patchy and discontinuous, and often base stations are very far from each other or support only older transmission technologies such as 2G or GPRS. These struggle when the mobile phone that is trying to connect is on a train travelling at 140mph, forcing the mobile to switch from one base station to the next, making a disconnection more likely. Even the metal structure of the train itself acts as a shield, protecting the phone from the microwave transmissions.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104487/original/image-20151204-16482-1ktpxby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C116%2C1024%2C651&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104487/original/image-20151204-16482-1ktpxby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104487/original/image-20151204-16482-1ktpxby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104487/original/image-20151204-16482-1ktpxby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104487/original/image-20151204-16482-1ktpxby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104487/original/image-20151204-16482-1ktpxby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104487/original/image-20151204-16482-1ktpxby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">No service, no signal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dbrulz/945284001">dbrulz</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Signal everywhere?</h2>
<p>In principle dead zones could be easily eliminated by blanketing the country with antennas. It wouldn’t fully resolve the lack of signal deep in buildings, but connections outdoors would be assured. But of course it would cost billions – an estimated <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/11300226/End-of-misery-of-mobile-phone-blackspots-in-many-rural-areas.html">£5 billion</a> to cover 90% of the UK. The network is designed to provide coverage to the maximum number of people, rather than the maximum area. Inevitably this means cities and towns are generally well served while more rural areas suffer poor coverage. </p>
<p>However, wireless communications are moving towards the higher frequency <a href="http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/news/articles/2014/creating-the-fastest-outdoor-wireless-internet-connection-in-the-world/">millimetre spectrum</a> between 30-100GHz (known as the V-Band, E-Band or W-band), which could be the solution. </p>
<p>Base stations need to be connected to the core network in order to pass on messages from mobile phone handsets to the rest of the network. This is usually through high-capacity fibre-optic cables, but this is very expensive and not always feasible due to local constraints.</p>
<p>The microwave spectrum currently in use hasn’t the capacity to carry all the data from base stations to the rest of the network, but millimetre waves offer a high-capacity wide band that could replace the need for fibre-optic cabling with a purely wireless connection. That means instead of long, expensive runs of fibre-optic cabling dug into the ground, more distant base stations can be connected via compact millimetre wave transmitter/receivers to more central base stations, which are then connected to existing fibre-optic network connections to the core network. </p>
<p>This approach would cut infrastructure costs enormously, which means it would be cheaper and so more likely that companies would install better coverage in rural and under-served areas. It’s not yet <a href="http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?arnumber=6515173">5G future speeds</a>, but it’s certainly a solution for the digital divide between town and countryside – and perhaps the end of the dreaded “no signal”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/49082/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claudio Paoloni receives funding from EPSRC and EU Horizon 2020. </span></em></p>Moving from microwave to millimetre wave wireless would see base station costs fall and bring an end to drop-outs and dead-zones.Claudio Paoloni, Professor of Electronics, Head of Engineering Department, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/384892015-04-02T04:19:15Z2015-04-02T04:19:15ZExplainer: what is 5G?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76568/original/image-20150331-1229-1y4ib9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mobile networks are undergoing the transition from 4G to the much faster and more capable 5G.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/17251154@N00/16197511031/in/photolist-qFjtHz-dveMZ1-k2ii7X-p7saD1-grbz52-k2k5iC-qa2fxs-edHTVF-mTLuq6-4FVhNt-k2ihwt-89GWaP-ogJWJb-eqQBF2-e6XNb8-8hzBx4-grbmAz-bwKbmC-hAnyak-mm9nUZ-kRLqKn-dAtzTr-dMDzXv-oSBaVX-9KpbKz-53gTNT-fpHHG7-iMfUE9-cCoRyE-nQkj5v-8vagfh-b8aa5n-rLCvTB-b5VA9x-cZcvu7-mF28nc-4c7NoX-em24Vq-DKDcy-8amVE9-mvLGqv-hMBcnr-omTobG-dDwpJr-cZcBRh-kryrpe-frnGE5-mTNhYL-kQbjcW-mTNjJu">Sy/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you take a stroll outside today, you’ll see a lot of people with mobile phones, <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/13/phablets-are-the-new-normal/">phablets</a> or tablets in their hands making calls, using the internet to catch up on the news, watch videos, or interacting with others via Facebook, Tumblr or Twitter.</p>
<p>In doing so, they’re all using a mobile data network. Many of these applications – particularly video – consume a lot of bandwidth, so telecommunications companies across the world are starting to talk about upgrading to the latest generation of mobile data to help speed things up.</p>
<p>If you think back to early 2011 you might remember a technology imaginatively called 3G, which was short for “3rd generation”. You might also remember how everything you tried to do on the 3G network was so clunky and slow. </p>
<p>Many of us wanted to capitalise on some of the new features available to us on our revolutionary new smartphones like the Apple iPhone that we all rushed out and bought, but often the network just couldn’t keep up.</p>
<p>Things were eventually upgraded to <a href="http://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-4g-9448">4G</a>, which we’ve had in Australia for <a href="http://delimiter.com.au/2011/09/27/telstras-4g-network-goes-live/">just under four years</a>, although even this is starting to show its age. </p>
<p>So you might think that 5G might be just around the corner. But we likely won’t see 5G networks until the end of this decade. In the mean time we can expect telcos to start rolling out some of the technologies being developed for 5G in their existing networks.</p>
<h2>4.5G?</h2>
<p>Have you noticed that Telstra is now using the groovy term “<a href="http://exchange.telstra.com.au/2014/11/03/introducing-the-future-of-4g-telstra-4gx/">4GX</a>” to describe the latest upgrade to its mobile network being rolled out around Australia?</p>
<p>If you’re lucky enough to have a new handset like the <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/iphone">Apple iPhone 6</a> or the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 then you’ll notice the new 4GX splash screen when your handset starts up.</p>
<p>The key 4GX enhancements are increased speed and better coverage in-building and in regional areas. This is thanks to the inclusion of <a href="http://www.telstrawholesale.com.au/products/facilities/spectrum-sharing/index.htm">spectrum sharing</a> that better utilises Telstra’s 1,800MHz and 700MHz spectrum bands.</p>
<p>Telstra has only recently been able to add the 700 MHz band spectrum to its mobile network that it bought when <a href="http://www.acma.gov.au/Industry/Spectrum/Digital-Dividend-700MHz-and-25Gz-Auction">analog television was switched off for good</a> and consigned to history.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76569/original/image-20150331-1274-1olhg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76569/original/image-20150331-1274-1olhg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76569/original/image-20150331-1274-1olhg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76569/original/image-20150331-1274-1olhg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76569/original/image-20150331-1274-1olhg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76569/original/image-20150331-1274-1olhg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76569/original/image-20150331-1274-1olhg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76569/original/image-20150331-1274-1olhg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Phablets, like this Sony Xperia Z Ultra, are often used for more than just making phone calls, and those other applications often demand a lot of data from the mobile network.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/janitors/10081142374/in/photolist-gmQupy-iqj5jD-iqj8Vr-gjb6v5-gjbzZP-iqiqj2-gH7GYD-iqioJP-iqjaVP-iqipT2-gjbyVp-gH7n4i-gH7Xjc-iqjdu6-gjbXh8-iqinXi-hQocwU-gjaWh5-gjbcQa-gbUgtW-gbTD5z-gbTBCM-iqismh-iqikxP-gjaZVZ-iqj82T-gjbCpP-gbU55U-gmQFiP-gjbfhL-gjaRMo-gH6snY-gjaQM7-oWSxow-gjaUgw-gktuPi-dYughn-jXgCW6-gH71pV-gH7kHL-gksXUK-gjbrLY-jXgDVv-gjbD94-iqinvM-iqimYy-gH6Xf8-iqjap8-gH7euU-gH6T4S">Kārlis Dambrāns/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>High VoLTE</h2>
<p>The next step along the pathway towards true 5G is likely to occur in coming months when the telcos roll out Voice over Long Term Evolution (<a href="http://www.techhive.com/article/259471/voice_over_lte_explained_better_voice_quality_coming_soon_to_your_4g_phone.html">VoLTE</a>). VoLTE will replace the existing 3G technology used for voice calls over the cellular network.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.zdnet.com/article/optus-joins-voice-over-lte-race/">Optus</a>, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/technology/articles/2015/02/09/4176577.htm">Vodafone</a> and <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/telstra-unveils-ambitious-timetable-for-rollout-of-volte-5g/story-e6frg8zx-1227243748272">Telstra</a> completed VoLTE trials earlier this year and are already preparing to roll it out.</p>
<p>Customers will benefit when VoLTE is introduced because the 3G channels used for voice calls will eventually be reallocated to provide increased bandwidth for data, which is increasingly taxed by the services mentioned above.</p>
<p>Already a large number of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VoLTE#Devices">recently released handsets</a> support VoLTE, and the VoLTE roll out will coincide with a network upgrade that will provide new services and <a href="http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2015/2/27/technology/nbn-will-suffer-under-telcos-lack-vision">improved video call capability</a>.</p>
<p>A key requirement for 5G is <a href="http://networks.nokia.com/sites/default/files/document/5g_requirements_white_paper.pdf">increased connection speeds</a> that are far superior to those experienced now. There are three factors affecting 5G connection speeds: how fast a device is moving; distance from the cell base station; and the number of devices in the same cell. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.ngmn.org/">Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance</a> has published a white paper (<a href="https://www.ngmn.org/fileadmin/ngmn/content/images/news/ngmn_news/NGMN_5G_White_Paper_V1_0.pdf">PDF</a>) that gives an idea of download speeds in a variety of usage scenarios. These vary from very high customer density, offering 25 Mbps to 50 Mbps, to typical cell edge data rates for 95% of users with high mobility, giving a minimum of 100 Mbps. The optimal is near the cell centre with low mobility giving 1 Gbps, and the 5G peak data rate is 10 Gbps.</p>
<p>Another key requirement that aims to reduce some of the congestion in busy areas is the introduction of seamless handover to Wi-Fi. This means that handsets will automatically shift from using 5G to Wi-Fi when the handset is in range of a Wi-Fi access point.</p>
<p>Have you also noticed that Telstra has commenced rolling out a <a href="https://www.telstra.com.au/broadband/wifi">national Wi-Fi network</a>? And that Optus has announced it is rolling out <a href="https://media.optus.com.au/media-releases/2015/scentre-group-and-optus-partner-to-rollout-australias-largest-shopping-centre-wifi-network/">Wi-Fi in major shopping centres</a>?</p>
<p>Initially the Telstra and Optus Wi-Fi networks will be open and free for everyone to use, albeit with usage limitations. But in 2016, Telstra and Optus are likely to restrict the Wi-Fi networks to paying customers only in order to be ready for the introduction of handsets capable of seamless handover from mobile to Wi-Fi.</p>
<h2>All the way to 5G</h2>
<p>As we approach 2020 it is likely that there will be more than 50 billion connected devices worldwide and <a href="http://theconversation.com/au/topics/internet-of-things">The Internet of Things</a> will no longer be something we think about but will be all around us. Everything from home appliances to our cars will be connected to the network, and 5G is being designed and built with this in mind.</p>
<p>Not only will more devices be connected to the 5G network than we’ve ever imagined, but the network will do everything better than 4G. This includes providing the capability and capacity for high resolution video streaming such as ultra high definition <a href="http://www.cnet.com/news/what-is-4k-uhd-next-generation-resolution-explained/">4K video</a>. </p>
<p>Privacy and security are also key considerations, so 5G will include extra capabilities to ensure that customer information is protected and our devices are harder to hack.</p>
<p>An oft-forgotten aspect of our mobile connectivity is battery life. The target for 5G networks is handsets, phablets, tablets and other devices with five times the battery life of existing 4G devices. Imagine not having to recharge for a couple of days or being able to watch a couple of movies without having to find a power outlet to plug into.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/38489/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark A Gregory does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Mobile networks are making the transition to 5G technology, promising faster data transfer and improved coverage.Mark A Gregory, Senior Lecturer in Electrical and Computer Engineering, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.