
AT&T Launches Fake 5G Network in Desperate Attempt to Seem Innovative - ptrptr
https://gizmodo.com/at-t-launches-fake-5g-network-in-desperate-attempt-to-s-1794645881
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PaulHoule
It has always been the case with these G's.

The consortium behind them has typically written up a laundry list of
requirements that have usually been missed as each G has come online.

For instance, 4G was supposed to support a gigabit per second but the first
versions of LTE did not. Later on we got LTE-advanced that built on LTE by
channel bonding and increased levels of MIMO, just as 802.11ac built on
802.11n.

5G was talked up heavily by chip vendors for a few years before carriers
started talking it up. 5G has such a huge list of requirements that it is hard
to believe it can really be covered by one standard (extreme low-power IoT,
extreme high-performance IoT, mm-wave powered fixed wireless, long range,
small cells, something better for handsets, ...)

Carriers didn't talk about 5G because 4G was so great from a business
standpoint because it was a great opportunity to raise the price for cellphone
plans, but 4G is getting competitive now, so the telecoms have to convince
investors they have something else underway. Like (ahem) getting the
government to mandate safety systems for cars that need a cell phone plan or
something...

