Introduced in 2019, 5G democratized fast and reliable mobile internet for billions of people across the globe. 5G brought significantly faster speeds than 4G, which was the best wireless communication technology till now. However, Huawei, the leading company in 5G technology, has been eyeing for more. The telecom giant announced 5.5G technology at MWC, the next step in mobile network evolution.
Building on the foundation of 5G, 5.5G aims to further enhance connectivity, speed, and reliability, bridging the gap between 5G and the eventual introduction of 6G in 2030. For your reference, 4G also had a 4.5G version, popularly known as 4G LTE.
While Huawei calls this intermediate version of 5G as 5.5G, other leading companies have preferred to call it 5.5G-Advanced.
What is 5.5G?
5.5G, which is sometimes called 5G Advanced, is the next big step in mobile network technology after 5G. It’s made to make our phones and internet connections even faster, able to handle more data and respond quicker than what we have now with 5G.
This naming convention itself signifies the advancement over 5G but falls short of the full capabilities expected from 6G. In essence, 5.5G represents a significant improvement over 5G, with faster speeds, lower latency, and better overall performance.
Jio has started rolling out 5.5G in India, and it’s currently exclusive to the OnePlus 13 (review) and OnePlus 13R (review). To experience 5.5G, you’ll need one of these phones. The network shows up as “5GA” on your status bar.
Now, let’s take a closer look at the differences between 5G and 5.5G.
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5G vs 5.5G: What’s Different?
5.5G is an enhanced version of 5G that addresses the shortcomings of 5G, making it even faster and more reliable. Here are some of the key differences.
1. Speed
5G networks typically offer speeds of about 1 Gbps in real-world applications, while 5.5G networks can achieve up to 10 Gbps. Interestingly, Huawei claims that 5.5G, at its peak, can be up to 10 times faster than 5G. Unfortunately, we don’t have any speed test measures at the moment to verify this claim.
Note: The above are real-world speeds and the theoretical speeds could be even higher.
2. Latency
5.5G networks have significantly lower latency, with a maximum delay of around 5 milliseconds compared to 8 to 12 ms in 5G networks. It should be noted that these are real-world latency measures, and the theoretical latency might be even lower.
3. Frequency
Per Huawei, 5.5G networks operate at frequencies below 100 GHz. 5G has frequency range 1 from 450 MHz to 6 GHz, and frequency range 2 from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz. This means that 5G operates at frequencies below 60 GHz.
Higher frequencies mean faster speeds but shorter range. We believe that 5.5G would continue to use the lower frequencies to make itself more accessible while also adding support for higher frequencies for even faster speeds.
4. Network Architecture
5.5G is fully standalone (SA), unlike 5G, which was both non-standalone (NSA) and SA. This means 5.5G does not rely on 4G towers. In India, for example, telecom operator airtel uses NSA 5G that relies on 4G hardware for operation. 5.5G would completely remove this reliance which means it can be used to its full potential.
5. Energy Efficiency
Huawei claims that 5.5G is more carbon efficient, especially for passive IoT, eliminating the need for individual IoT devices to have their own power source for communication.
6. Positioning
5.5G offers more accurate positioning, which is beneficial for applications like smart agriculture, smart cities, and environmental monitoring.
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FAQs
Is 5.5G and 5G-Advanced the same technology?
Yes, 5.5G and 5G-Advanced is the same technology but with a different name given by different companies.
Is 5.5G faster than 5G?
Huawei claims that 5.5G is up to 10 times faster than 5G, delivering download speeds of 10 Gbps and upload speeds of 1 Gbps in real-world applications.
When will 5.5G launch in India?
5.5G, also known as 5G-Advanced, is expected to arrive in the market by mid-2024 in certain parts of the globe. An India launch is still on the distant horizon, with no concrete timeline yet.
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