We will wait for the real 5G, which is what the auction and frequencies are all about

The "5G auction" cluster appeared in the media. This is quite a simplification, which introduces considerable confusion.

Will the cancellation of the frequency auction we are dealing with now postpone the introduction of a new generation network in Poland? Will only the winners of this auction be able to run 5G? So what are telecoms advertising now?

5G is a very media topic today. The next operators "launch" the new generation networks and widely boast about it. It is primarily a marketing race to appear in the minds of customers as the most modern and the first.

Although everyone has (or will have in a moment) full right to say "I have a 5G network" from the point of view of using the IMT-2020 standard, they are not the same for different reasons. And certainly they are not yet networks that are supposed to create a new reality noisy announced in recent years by producers of network infrastructure or outlined by the European Union in "Agenda 2020". These will only start appearing after the mythical "5G auction". Everything revolves around frequency, so it's worth explaining a few things about them.

Auction, concession, reservation

Mobile telephony has not been a licensed industry for a long time. You do not need special permission to operate in this sector (a license is needed e.g. for the sale of alcohol), all you need to do is enter and enter in the register of telecommunications companies kept by the Office of Electronic Communications.

The operators in the "5G auction" are not fighting for a "5G license", but for the reservation of a piece of frequency in the licensed band (in the 3400-3800 MHz band), i.e. one that they will be able to use exclusively. There are also unlicensed bands (e.g. 2400 MHz fragment) that anyone can use without notification, provided that they are broadcast with the appropriate parameters (low power). Yes, almost all of us are such a small operator of our home WiFi router or devices connecting via Bluetooth.

What can you do with your reservation, what should you run on it? Reservations are technologically neutral, i.e. simplifying - you can do anything as long as you do not disturb the neighbors in the ether. On the frequencies planned for distribution in the "5G auction" quite a few small, local networks based on LTE and WiMax (now a little forgotten third generation system) now operate. These networks were most often built by municipalities, usually with the support of EU funds, to provide Internet access services to their residents.

All reservations of cellular operators, including the 800, 900, 1800, 2100 and 2600 MHz bands they use, are technologically neutral. Operators can use any technology there. For example, 2G (GSM / EDGE) and 3G (UMTS / HSPA +) operate in Poland at 900 MHz, and Plus uses 4G (LTE) there. Sooner or later 5G networks will also start working there, because this range is standardized under this technology. The changes will take place with the spread of 5G phones and the decrease in traffic generated by devices running on older systems.

throughput

In various media you can read that "the higher the frequency, the higher the speed." This is not true. The frequency only determines the ability to penetrate obstacles and the susceptibility to wave bending along with the curvature of the Earth. The lower the frequency, the better, the further the propagation of the signal. Pure physics.

800 MHz is great for stations that give coverage in a large area and inside buildings even far away from the station, while 2600 MHz is primarily a point-building range in places where there are many users. But the possible bit rate obtained by the terminal is already directly dependent on the bandwidth resources (block sizes) used by the given network. Of course, the modulation used is also important (i.e. how much data can be packed in each Hertz) or the use of multi-antenna systems (MIMO).

Assuming QAM256 modulation (such as modern 4G networks and 5G systems currently running) and MIMO 4x4 systems (no one in Poland uses expensive 32x32 or 64x64 solutions yet), it can be assumed that from a 10 MHz block (paired, FDD) in laboratory conditions about 200 Mb / s. The operators have in the 800 band from 5 to 10 MHz, in 900 from 7 to 15 MHz, in 1800 from 15 to 40 MHz, in 2100 by 15 MHz, in 2600 from 15 to 20 MHz. Within these blocks, two different systems can operate on each band, sharing available resources. And modern terminals and modern networks allow you to connect available blocks into a whole, obtaining more bandwidth to support a single device, and thus higher throughputs.

Let's take a specific example: if a given operator allows aggregation within the LTE 5 MHz network from the 800, 10 MHz band from 1800, 10 MHz from 2100 and 20 MHz from 2600, which in total gives 45 MHz, then with QAM256 and MIMO 4x4 up to 900 Mb / s. Of course, provided that the user's terminal can handle all this, because some allow only aggregation of 2 blocks, they do not necessarily have to support MIMO 4x4 or support only QAM64.

"Pre-auction" 5G

What has Play launched, T-Mobile announces, and will Orange soon join? Well, within the 2100 MHz band, where each has 15 MHz of available block, they decided to launch a 5G network. The 5G spectral (radio) efficiency is several percent higher than 4G when using QAM256 and MIMO 4x4, so you can safely assume the same 200 Mb / s for every 10 MHz as for 4G for calculations. Using the full 15 MHz would give a 5G network with a maximum bit rate of 300 Mb / s.

However, frequencies are a very valuable asset, which is always not enough, so as part of well understood savings, within this 15 MHz block, the 5G network coexists with 4G. Due to the fact that LTE devices on 2100 works quite a lot, and those with 5G is still a cure, and the 2100 fragment allocated to the 4G network will always be considerable. There is no reason to count on a full 15 MHz for 5G. However, the advantage of the 5G standard and its supporting devices is that it is possible to aggregate 4G and 5G networks from different bands within one session, i.e. the bit rates obtained at speed tests will be high anyway.

Plus he approached the topic differently. As the only operator for many years it has had unused 40 MHz block in the 2600 band. With unpaired band (TDD), because this fragment has this operator, it can be assumed that with QAM256 and MIMO 4x4 it will be possible to get 150 Mb / s in every 10 MHz. Plus has permanently allocated the 40 MHz block to the 5G network, which gives 600 Mb / s bit rate. Higher speeds possibly obtained by testers will result from aggregation with 4G networks during measurements.

The main problem of both types of 5G networks, however, is that on the fingers of the woodcutter's hand you can count the devices that support them at the moment. They are practically only the latest Huawei terminals, in addition those without Google services. In the case of Play, Orange and T-Mobile, don't be fooled that some device has the 2100 MHz band listed on the box as supported, because it must also be able to handle dynamic bandwidth allocation. From what I know, for example, Samsung Galaxy S 20 series can not do it. However, it is only a matter of time, because this year there will be devices on the market that can handle both types of networks.

The second problem is scale. These "slower" networks of the three operators already have over a thousand permits. Plus started with just a hundred stations. At the moment, the user is faced with a choice: either lower 5G speed in more places, or higher in less. However, if Plus completes the promised 600 stations by the end of the year, i.e. in the period until which the 3400-3800 MHz band is unlikely to be distributed in the new auction, it will objectively become the "5G technology leader in Poland", which it already uses now, in my opinion a little bit exaggerated.

"Real" 5G

During the standardization of the 5G network, it was assumed that one of the first ranges that will be used to build the new generation network will be 3400-3800 MHz. Manufacturers of equipment, infrastructure and consumer devices were preparing for this. This is probably where the "5G auction" bundle comes from.

And what will 5G networks that can be built at this frequency be capable of? In the auction being canceled, unpaired bandwidth blocks (TDD) of 80 MHz were available. By using QAM256 and MIMO 4x4 everyone will be able to achieve data rates of 1.2 Gb / s in laboratory conditions. Aggregation with 4G networks and successful winds should be able to achieve this mythical 1 Gb / s in speed tests in real conditions. With MIMO 32x32, the speed obtained on the device should be about 20% higher. Because, it's worth mentioning, it's hard to construct an antenna system in your phone that will handle something more than MIMO 4x4. The "higher" MIMO on the base station allows, first of all, to increase the capacity of the station itself and ensure the possibility of obtaining very high data rates for a larger number of users.

At the end

5G will be a revolution introduced in an evolutionary way. It's a bridge to the future, a smooth transition from 4G. We will not feel the "wind in your hair", because we are not able to fully use the speeds offered by "real 5G". It was the same with LTE, without which we cannot imagine life in many cases today. New business models and companies are emerging thanks to new technologies. But that's the topic for the next column.

Witold Tomaszewski. Founder and long-term editor-in-chief of TELEPOLIS.PL , later responsible for supporting the investment process of building the Play network in the field of public relations. Now an independent advisor operating on the telecommunications market, specializing in communication strategy and the legislative process. Specialization: 5G.

We will wait for the real 5G, which is what the auction and frequencies are all about