Between the first real discussions and the “complete” deployment of 5G in France, five years have passed. Since 2020, our smartphones and other devices can finally use the new network technology succeeding 4G. Only, this 5G is not complete. The so-called “5G midband” uses 3.5 GHz network bands, also loosely called “5G sub-6”. The potential of 5G is therefore not fully unveiled: the famous millimeter waves, supposed to release all the speed of the network, are not exploited.
5G millimeter, also known as 5G mmwv (for millimeter wave) allows the use of the 26 GHz network band (or 28 GHz in the United States and Asia), which promises hypothetically 5 to 10 times the capacities than we can get with the current 5G. A good prospect which should – to give an order of comparison – offer higher speeds and speeds than very high speed fiber. A necessity when we know that by 2028, mobile data traffic should increase by 260%, with an average of 46 GB of data consumed per month and per smartphone. Increased use of the smartphone, made possible precisely by the deployment of this faster 5G.
Ready-made devices
No need to worry about the availability of this high-speed 5G, since Qualcomm announces that a fleet of devices is already ready. The company specifies that more than 170 products from 65 brands can connect to the 26 GHz bands. In telephony, these are mostly premium smartphones, but the mid-range is not left out. It will therefore not necessarily be necessary to obtain a new telephone, since the modem will probably support millimeter 5G. It should be added that Qualcomm is not the only one to have positioned itself in the millimeter 5G market: its main competitor, MediaTek, presented its first chip compatible with the network, the Dimensity 1050, last May.
France lagging behind
At Qualcomm, we believe that the technology is mature enough on both sides to be deployed, but that is without counting on the legislation in force in European countries. Because if in the United States and in China, the 5G millimeter is already well in place, this is not the case of the Old Continent. Currently, 14 European countries have initiated or already implemented millimeter 5G. Among them are Germany, Spain and Italy. Countries neighboring France which have a head start in this area.
With us, we prefer to take our time, and the exploitation of the 26 GHz network band is still only used on an experimental basis. Eleven points created all over France are intended to prove the interest of deploying this 5G millimeter. Tests which should continue throughout the year 2023, which means that it will still be necessary to wait before being able to touch this much faster 5G. Especially since once these experiments have been completed, it will remain to discuss the terms of allocation according to the operators. A process that could take time — again.
