Efficient Thermal Management: The Key to Better 5G Performance
The market for 5G devices is expanding rapidly, several 5G smartphones are now available on the market, with manufacturers emphasizing the benefits of low latency and high download rates. However, 5G still faces many challenges, especially in the infrastructure. According to a recently released report by PCMag comparing 4G and 5G download speeds across various regions in the US (PCMag report), 5G is not quite ready yet.
Verizon showed the fastest download rate at around 2Gbps but found only 4 % of the network has 5G coverage. 5G utilizes either mmWave spectrum or sub-6 GHz, mmWave achieves the fastest download rates but also has the shortest range, hence Verizon's limited 5G coverage. Whilst sub-6 GHz has a longer range, the tests found in many cases it was actually slower than 4G in the same region. Whilst overall download speeds were improved from 2019, a lot of this is down to improvements in 4G infrastructure. mmWave is the more technically challenging technology and as the 5G networks evolve we expect to see a large increase in mmWave installations and hence many opportunities for new materials and technologies. The above tests, however, highlight that whilst there has been a lot of hype relating to 5G, there are still many challenges and a long way to go until reality catches up. Click here to read more.
