4G has barely arrived in the UK, and plans are already underway for 5G. Authorities are looking ahead to the next, next generation of super-fast Internet for phones and tablets -- as it's revealed we used twice as much data as last year.
Telecoms watchdog Ofcom is already looking to 5G. That may seem like looking far ahead, but Ofcom figures say we used 20 million gigabytes of data in June 2012 -- more than twice the 9 million gigabytes we used in June 2011. By 2030, Ofcom reckons demand for mobile data could be 80 times higher than today.
Ofcom says it's making plans to release spectrum from the 700MHz frequency band, which is currently used for digital terrestrial television. That's unwelcome news for TV broadcasters, but Ofcom reckons it can free the spectrum without another big telly 'switchover' like the digital switchover that finally ended this year.
Ofcom wants to ensure the same frequencies of spectrum are used for mobile broadband here in the UK as abroad. That should end the need to make different phones with different antennas in different countries. The US, for example, has different 4G phones to us.
Keeping 5G in neat order is a good idea. 4G is already fragmented before it even gets off the ground: the first UK 4G network, EE, uses the 1,800MHz band, while other networks will use the 800 and 2,600MHz bands. The Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE supports all the bands but most phones, such as the iPhone 5, won't be able to switch from one network to another.
4G launched in Britain last month with EE, the LTE network formed by the merger of Orange and T-Mobile. Other networks will join the 4G fun next year, when Ofcom auctions off the remaining spectrum.
Is it time to start thinking about 5G? Accelerate your thoughts in the comments or on our super-speedy Facebook page.
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Comments 11
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Peter Hudson 16 November, 2012 16:03
Great so I'll be able to reach my 500MB monthly limit even quicker.
anonymous 16 November, 2012 17:05
"30 times higher than today" if we use 20 million GB's now it'll 600 million by 2030 which will mean everyone in the UK will use about 10GB of data every month. I think that's unlikely.
Ryan Simmons 16 November, 2012 17:12
@anonymous 17:05 that's 18 years from now...Think how much internet usage has gone up in the last 20. Usage is rising exponentially because files and webpages are getting bigger. I don't think 10GB a month is at all a stretch for 2030, maybe even an underestimate.
anonymous 16 November, 2012 17:32
@anonymous. I use about 2.5 to 3GB of data a month on wifi and data. It is very much conceivable that we could be using that in data alone due to the speed ever increasing number of apps to run our lives for us.
Patrick Cantellow 16 November, 2012 18:26
Well instead of vodafone and 02 rolling out 4G they should roll out 5G
anonymous 17 November, 2012 14:02
Peter Hudson, I have one point to pose to you, just because your webpage loads faster doesn't mean you will read the information on the page quicker now does it. Unless you have a short attention span and decide to load page after page and not even read them. Thats the only way you will hit your 500mb quicker. Think about it fella!!!! You seem to be "the cup is half empty" kind of a person.
anonymous 18 November, 2012 05:47
anonymous, of course we will be using MUCH more data; There is this guy who predicted years ago that the more energy efficient appliances become the more energy usage will increase. Sounds unreasonable right? But it turns out that he was right. In the old days people were more aware and more careful of not to waste energy because appliances used a lot of energy and electricity bills were higher. These days because people are aware that they have an energy efficient fridge for example they don't mind leaving it wide open for like 10 minutes to put their food shopping in or make up their mind on what they want to eat. Or leave their energy efficient lights on while not at home. TThe reult is that in many cases the total use of energy has increased. You can also apply thsi to data use scenario. For example today I can not download a full HD movie in full speed while playing an online game as my bandwidth will be low and my game will lag or my movie will take ages to download. As a reult I avoid doing those two things at the same time. If I had more speed though I would do it. As a result my movie would be waiting for me to watch it when I finish playing my game therefore saves me time therefore more downloads every month. And that is just one example. So yes I think that data use will go up dramatically!.
anonymous 18 November, 2012 19:29
@anonymous & anonymous
It is highly conceivable that we could be suing that much data- the move to 'over the internet' films, combined with high quality HD content and increasingly high pixel density screens does not paint the picture of our existing demands levelling out on data usage. Furthermore, as we get more speed, more capacity, people find new ways to use it, new services that take advantage of that where we could not have before (e.g. youtube was unimaginable in the era of dial-up).
Futhermore, this is the opinion of not just the cooky old british govornment, but also the major technological firms- Google Fiber, their fiber-optic service in the U.S, iwas introduced precisely on this premis of increacingly increacing demand.
Olivier Butler 18 November, 2012 19:35
I think you mean using, but yes,
Another thing that points in the direction of a sharp rise in data usage is cloud storage, the trend is new, with a huge number of the public having little if anything stored in cloud accounts, but as this reliance increases, and more people use it for their music, photo, and even film libraries (I'm thinking iTunes Match et al. of the future), the daily use of an average citizen could easily exceed 1GB.
anonymous 18 November, 2012 20:06
No no no,lets all take stock of ourselves,unless we all want to spend our entire lives online this just isn't going to be needed,in a year or too we might all be using the phone a lot less and get back to reality of living our lives normally instead of through the phone or a tablet pc.
anonymous 19 November, 2012 16:17
Invention of science will be not paused at any cost. May be 5G will work in different way, time will say!!