I had a joke, but someone stole it: I thought this was interesting. Radio-emitting threads could replace metal tags to stop shoplifters. A company called Myruns is behind the tech. The threads are five times thinner than a single human hair. Special ink inside the threads would transmit signals to set off alarms.
5G: What it means for you
The topic of 5G has been a hot one lately — and for good reason. Who doesn’t want lightning speed data?
But with the excitement also comes questions that you need answers to. After all, smartphones are the primary way most of us communicate, and this 5G rollout will change the way we use data, download apps and make calls.
That’s why we’re bringing you the inside info on how 5G works compared to today’s LTE networks — especially if you’re a T-Mobile customer who has access to America’s largest nationwide 5G network. Let’s take a look at the specifics of 5G and what it can do for you.
What is 5G and how does it work?
There’s a lot of technical jargon behind how 5G works, but the basic premise is this: 5G is a big technology leap forward from 4G LTE. It offers increased capacity, insanely fast speeds and super-low latency.
How? The 5G network allows large amounts of data to be transmitted much more efficiently than with 4G LTE. That means more reliable service, less lag and the ability to handle many more connections without buffering.
Remember how excited we got when 4G LTE rolled out about a decade ago? It changed the way we used cell phones by adding video and social media capabilities to our devices and launched new applications like ridesharing services. And, over time, 5G will do the same thing for our phones. It’s going to unlock a new class of applications and amazing things that we can’t even imagine yet.
Want a deeper look into how 5G can revolutionize our world? Listen to Kim’s podcast on what the next generation of tech might look like.
Is 5G safe?
In a word, yes. 5G is completely safe. In fact, it’s based on radio frequencies that have been used for decades. Low-band 5G uses UHF TV bands, which have been in use since 1952.
And mid-band frequencies have been in use at least since 2007. Parts of it were first used in 1963 — so it’s been around, at least in part, for decades now.
High-band, or millimeter-wave 5G, is a type of 5G spectrum being used primarily in the U.S. That’s the short-range type of 5G that requires a lot of small cell sites, so the infrastructure is more visible than it was before.
Does 5G technology increase our health risks?
For awhile now, we’ve heard warnings about how cellphones can cause health risks, but there hasn’t seemed to be much of a consensus between scientists and doctors. Soon, cellphones will be converting to the new, higher and more powerful frequency with 5G technology. Does this mean even more of a health risk and is there anything you can do to protect yourself?