One big reason why 5G will be DOA

Mr. Sheep

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Aug 6, 2018
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Two words: Rain. Fade. Most of the frequencies 5G is using are above 6 GHz, which is when rain fade occurs. If you don't know what rain fade is, basically any signal over 6 GHz loses signal strength in the rain. This is very common in satellite services. 5G is trying to be pushed as mobile and home internet. Because it's going to have rain fade I simply can't see it being used. At the very least, I think 5G home internet won't catch on. I haven't seen many people talk about rain fade in 5G so it appears that the carriers are trying to keep info about it in the bag to try and attract more customers. In my opinion, rain fade will make 5G impractical and not worth it.

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Lone Gunman

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Mar 19, 2010
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Hummm, it's hard to imagine anyone wanting to spend that kind of money developing something like that to have THAT kind of problem with it?? Not saying you're wrong mind you, just that there's a lot of smart people in this world and I'd bet that they have figured some way around it before they spent a bunch of money deploying it.

Just saying.....................
 

norman881

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Two words: Rain. Fade. Most of the frequencies 5G is using are above 6 GHz, which is when rain fade occurs. If you don't know what rain fade is, basically any signal over 6 GHz loses signal strength in the rain. This is very common in satellite services. 5G is trying to be pushed as mobile and home internet. Because it's going to have rain fade I simply can't see it being used. At the very least, I think 5G home internet won't catch on. I haven't seen many people talk about rain fade in 5G so it appears that the carriers are trying to keep info about it in the bag to try and attract more customers. In my opinion, rain fade will make 5G impractical and not worth it.

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If most of their frequency is above 6 Ghz then why are the trying to get 100 Mhz of the lower C Band range?
 
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mdram

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Aug 24, 2005
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you forgot about lack of penetration
much of the spectrum used cant get through trees, let alone walls

maybe exterior antenna can fix part of that, so add in a a truck roll
 

harshness

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May 5, 2007
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Yeah but then those local antennas will have to go to some tower far away so it will still be affected by rain fade either way.
What makes you so sure that 5G is supposed to be a mesh network?

I would expect that many, if not all of the antennas would be fibered leaving only the "last mile" to wireless.

I think you're reasoning using two things you know a little about and coming up with something that is science fiction.
 

Stargazer

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People could put an antenna in a window for reception. No truck roll needed. Also wouldn’t they offer 5G at 600 MHz which would be better than if it wasn’t 5G?


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Mr. Sheep

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Aug 6, 2018
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What makes you so sure that 5G is supposed to be a mesh network?

I would expect that many, if not all of the antennas would be fibered leaving only the "last mile" to wireless.

I think you're reasoning using two things you know a little about and coming up with something that is science fiction.
I was told they're meshed and I just thought having wired antennas everywhere doesn't seem practical so that's why I assumed that.

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Lone Gunman

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People could put an antenna in a window for reception. No truck roll needed. Also wouldn’t they offer 5G at 600 MHz which would be better than if it wasn’t 5G?


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Yup, I've got a smartphone setup as a hot spot and fastened to my bedroom window with velcro because that's where it picks up the best signal from the cell tower it's connecting to. ;)
 

Juan

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Where did you learn this (links would help support your argument)?

Mesh can certainly exist, but to suggest that it must be meshed is folly.
Actually cell phone towers tap into the same network your regular phone uses..and it also taps into the same internet network that landline uses

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harshness

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Actually cell phone towers tap into the same network your regular phone uses..and it also taps into the same internet network that landline uses
My workplace uses T-mobile so I'm intimately familiar with cellular hot spots that use an Internet connection -- it is the only way we can get service inside the offices.
 

Stargazer

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I thought I heard a while back that the future was people’s ota antennas would not only receive but transmit signal (mesh) to get other people signals that couldn’t reach the towers directly. I’m surprised that this isn’t implemented into more devices for a company to use to have service available in many more locations.


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Juan

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I thought I heard a while back that the future was people’s ota antennas would not only receive but transmit signal (mesh) to get other people signals that couldn’t reach the towers directly. I’m surprised that this isn’t implemented into more devices for a company to use to have service available in many more locations.


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Nope..not with the big boys

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harshness

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I thought I heard a while back that the future was people’s ota antennas would not only receive but transmit signal (mesh) to get other people signals that couldn’t reach the towers directly.
That may have been someone's fantasy, but I suspect that it has little to no basis in reality. I reason that OTA reception antennas make for lousy transmission antennas. Further, any of them that has a conventional amp or pre-amp on them literally can't carry a signal backwards to the input side of the amp.
 

Anyone doing dual WAN connections?

Speeds dropping really low at primetime

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