Screens of some cell phone models already show the long-awaited 5G icon when they are connected to the mobile network in São Paulo. This connection, however, is still far from the futuristic one that promises from remote robotic surgery to the popularization of autonomous cars.
The 5G available today, called DSS (Dynamic Spectrum Sharing) or NSA (non-standalone), is considered “impure”. The connection uses new technology, but operates in the same frequency band as 4G (2.3 GHz), which limits performance.
The “pure” version, or standalone, has a band dedicated only to it, at 3.5 GHz. The connection would be released in Brazil until June 30 this year, but due to lack of equipment, Anatel (National Telecommunications Agency) decided to postpone the deadline by 60 days last Thursday (2).
THE Sheet tested the 5G DSS available in São Paulo using a compatible Samsung Galaxy S21 FE connection. The tests were carried out over a day in the Avenida Paulista region using chips from two operators.
The results, obtained by Speedtest.net, disappoint and give impure 5G a repackaged 4G feel. At times, the performance was much lower than the previous generation, bringing 3G memories.
By Claro, the average download, upload and latency speeds of the 5G DSS were 4.7 Mbps (megabits per second), 0.2 Mbps and 113.6 milliseconds. For Vivo, the results were 36.4 Mbps, 18.6 Mbps and 43 ms.
Download speed determines how long it takes data to download from the internet, such as a Spotify playlist and a Netflix movie. The upload time, the time to do the opposite, like uploading a file to Google Drive or making a WhatsApp call.
Latency is the transfer time of a data packet from one point to another, crucial for activities such as online games and for the main bets of the new generation.
The numbers may vary depending on the time and region in which the tests are carried out, but the fact that the new connection is still far from the numbers of the previous generation demonstrates that 5G still has a long way to go.
For example, in the same test, 4G did better. For Claro, the averages were 10.7 Mbps, 12.7 Mbps and 83.3 ms. Via Vivo, 120.9 Mbps, 38.5 Mbps and 19.7 ms.
For the average consumer, 4G already serves entertainment, work and education activities well. But 5G, which is associated with increased productivity in industry, agribusiness, healthcare and other sectors, requires higher speeds and minimal latency.
The speed of pure 5G reaches, on average, 1Gbps (Gigabit per second), which is ten times higher than the average of 4G. For example, to download a 5GB file (a HD movie) on pure 5G, you would have to wait 42 seconds. And this connection can reach up to 20 Gbps.
On the 5G DSS tested, the same file would take around two and a half hours, taking into account the average obtained by Claro.
According to Speedtest’s global index for the first quarter of 2022, Claro’s 5G median speed in Brazil is 72.3 Mbps, followed by Tim, at 62.8 Mbps, and by Vivo, at 62.3 Mbps.
Although the numbers are higher than those obtained in the test of Sheet, are still far from representing an evolution in relation to 4G. That is, even taking into account data from across the country, 5G DSS is still not the connection that will transform the world.
In a note, Vivo points out that impure 5G is the first stage of evolution of the new generation. “Due to its transitory nature, it does not offer the real experience of the fifth generation, and features that will come from the new frequencies, acquired in the Anatel auction at the end of last year”, said the company.
Claro did not manifest itself until the publication of the text.
Data from the GSMA consultancy indicate that the world should reach 1 billion 5G connections by the end of this year. Brazil is about to activate the 3.5 GHz band of 5G, but it still fails to offer 4G to all inhabitants.
Before Anatel’s postponement, the deadline for activating standalone 5G in the country was June 30. Operators, in turn, had to fulfill their first obligations by July 31 — among them, the activation of antennas at the rate of 1 for every 100,000 inhabitants in the 26 capitals and the Federal District. With the additional deadline, these dates became August 29 and September 29 of this year.
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