Dear Editor,

One would expect that 5G service would be laid out first with equipment and deployments and with adequate education on the probabilities of service enhancements. Technology has been rapidly moving, but, unfortunately, the span between consumer education and technological advancement is vast.

For example, there are many who would like the ownership of a Lamborghini or Rolls Royce automobile but there are several realities to realize before the final determination is made. Are the streets adequately paved and smooth to handle this high-end machinery? Can I venture Over-the-Hill in my prized possession? A negative on these two basic points practically eliminates the need to proceed with acquisition.

How does this relate? Well, mobile service providers have been heavily prompting via advertisements, social media, SMS, direct texting, giant billboards, TV and radio, etc.

New 5G cell phones are now available (with special packages and terms).

Now, almost a year later, we are hearing from the regulator and not the telephone company about the reason why the buildout is not probable along with one of the reasons being that the populace is not ready for it. This is ludicrous and unacceptable.

The newspaper shared the regulator's concerns that the industry groups raised questions around the affordability of 5G services, if deployed in The Bahamas, given the expected investment needs may be cost-prohibitive to end users/businesses.

One would expect that a corporate or conglomerate group that would win the bid on a national service requirement would have done its homework on geography and topology on the provisioning of 700 islands and cays. Truthfully, we could be satisfied if 15 percent of our islands got 5G. Do you realize that this is only two percent of the undertaking required to realize an acceptable load platform for The Bahamas?

What is 5G?

The 5G spectrum is a radio frequency (RF) bandwidth utilizing millimeter waves, which is a much shorter wavelength than the 4G. The shorter loop means 5G can carry a lot more data much quicker and with less latency than 4G but it does so at a much shorter range.

Where 4G wavelengths loop/reach out to about 10 miles, the 5G is good for only about 1,000 feet, less than two percent of the 4G range. This means that more equipment is necessary for deployment to support this technology. This also necessitates the need for lamp posts and strategic buildings, along with the existing cell towers.

Despite the high props and massive sales in customer equipment, the mobile providers now appear reluctant to provide the correlating equipment citing infeasibility.

Outlook

Surprisingly and unexpectedly, the regulator has become the spokesman for this dilemma. Sadly, many people are wondering if the 5G phones are worth paying top dollar for right now. But amazingly, thousands have been sold. Unfortunately, they won't realize the unit's full capabilities.

Consolation

At minimum, there should be an insistence on the regulator to provide zoning and usage coverage of the 5G services. Right now, the outlook is a sore sight and comparable to when the first cell phones were offered in The Bahamas. Only businesses and high-end clientele were allowed to purchase the devices. Ironically, the services provided at the time were deployed by the telephone company using ultra high frequency (UHF) two-way radio equipment with dipole antennas to facilitate connectivity.

Now, in 2023, the mobile devices are seemingly once again ahead of the wavelength service required for their full functionality.

It's like bringing Lamborghini and Rolls Royce to The Bahamas and running them on regular fuel and potholed streets. Choppy rides and unstable running are what one would end up with.

The same reference can be applied to 5G cell phones running on lower grade bandwidth provisioning. Thank goodness they are backward compatible but will function no better than the phones they replaced. This is the balance that the regulators are required to be savvy about and to ensure compliance across the board.

To add further insult to injury, being inflicted right now is that the operator/providers cannot derive a feasible return on projected investment to service 5G equipment. And the death knell to all this is the perpetual insistence that a third mobile should not be allowed.

This is preposterous, disheartening and a downright disservice to the Bahamian public and an embarrassing outlook for visitors and businessmen alike who bring along their laptops and cell phones but encounter subpar services to complete their communication and transaction reliably.

The important questions to ask the regulator are:

(a) Should I buy a 5G cell phone?

(b) Why are the sales promoted and allowed if the services to support are not yet available?

Anything short of an immediate resolution exposes a compromised product.

Respectfully yours,

- A. Freeman Ingraham

Freeport, Bahamas

The post 5G connectivity: Its needs, necessity, capability and reliability appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.

The post 5G connectivity: Its needs, necessity, capability and reliability appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.

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