Not even the coronavirus can derail 5G’s global momentum

2020 was the year for 5G to go mainstream after which the world would be flooded with the high-speed network coverage. 5G’s global momentum help for easy network Handset makers would start making 5G phones, and the hype was real.

Consumers were finally supposed to enjoy the benefits of super-fast wireless technology, but then the coronavirus pandemic hit the world. A virus that quickly spread globally, causing many cities, countries towards complete lockdown.

Coronavirus was first detected in China back in 2019; it was the first country to shut down, which resulted in the stoppage of mobile phones and other product production. After China, every other country in the globe soon went to lockdown, and the global economy came to a halt.

What happened to 5G Network

The pandemic has completely changed our world, and for 5G, a continuing advancement was crucial. Due to the lockdowns in countries worldwide, people were forced to stay inside their homes and maintain social distance.

While people were pushed towards staying inside, they were forced to rely on broadband services; 5 G would have lift things up. 5G network is the next-gen cellular technology.

It can give ten to a hundred times more speed compared to 4G cellular technology. 5G could improve video conferencing as well as AR and VR. The demand for 5G grew more which forced network carrier, handset makers to shift their focus on this next-gen cellular technology.

5G rollout isn’t far; it’s expected to be much faster than 4G LTE. Even though with the pandemic hitting the world, 5G is expected to go mainstream in 2020. 

The Initial Days

The place where 5G was supposed to roll out was MWC, one of the world’s biggest mobile conference. The show was supposed to feature 5G phones from significant vendors and information about the improvement in the network technology.

Unfortunately, MWC was cancelled, and five days after that, Apple issued a warning. Apple said that the pandemic had severely impacted their roll-out operations; it was much bigger than expected.

Not only Apple but also many other companies were severely impacted. Even Samsung issued an early warning that the pandemic would severely hurt business, and investments on 5G would either be reduced or delayed.

The building of 5G cellular technology

5G’s global momentum Network availability and handsets are the two things 5G relies upon. Though coronavirus had a great impact on the market, carriers in the US continued to provide 5G services in many global markets.

Even though Canadian and European carriers did roll out 5G, the question was o fast it could expand. In Canada and parts of the European Union, 5G spectrum auctions have been delayed because of the pandemic. The launch of 5G in some areas was delayed for several months.

According to CBC, the spectrum auction for Canada is postponed until next summer which was supposed to happen in December 2020. At the same time, AT&T’s 5G services are now covering more than 100 million people in more than 300 markets as of mid-June.

To speed up the 5G rollout, AT&T deployed a dynamic spectrum to share its network’s parts. On the other hand, Verizon, in 35 cities made it possible for its customers to upload content over the 5G network. It also created a virtual lab so that during the pandemic, 5G applications would still work 5G’s global momentum.

Could you expect 5G rollout on schedule?

5G phones and devices, like networks, are expected to roll out on time. But there are few 5G phones which are a little late on schedule rollout, but it isn’t a significant issue, at least not in the US.

Apple said that though China shut itself down, the productions are back on track, and the consumer could expect that the upcoming iPhones would come with 5G. Reports said that, in 2020, it expected that smartphone makers would ship more than 30 million 5G phones in the US.

Also, half of the total 5G smartphone devices are expected to be Apple iPhones, according to analytics reports. In the US, in 2020, three out of ten 5G smartphones that will be sold would be Apple iPhone.

Conclusion

Now, the question, are people going to purchase 5G devices because the first phone that hit the market was pricey. It was the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G that cost a whopping $1,299, which is $399 more than the regular S10.

But you can expect that the latest 5G premium phones would be less expensive, which would be accessible to everyone in the coming years. Chip companies like MediaTek and Qualcomm would change their chips to 5G chips.

Though the US’s phone purchased went down during the pandemic, as soon as the stimulus was released, the sales increased. Yes, that’s good news, though 5G is in its early stages; before every network carrier officially rolls it out, purchasing 5G devices as android or ios and broadband means deployment of the network would be easy.

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