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Samsung Announces 5G Breakthrough

Samsung says it has developed 5G transceiver technology that could pave the way for much faster mobile data connections. However, it could take until 2020 or longer before the technology actually finds its way into consumers’ hands. PCMag’s Chloe Albanesius reported, “Samsung said today that it has made a breakthrough in the development of ‘5G’ […]

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Cynthia Harvey

May 13, 2013

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Samsung says it has developed 5G transceiver technology that could pave the way for much faster mobile data connections. However, it could take until 2020 or longer before the technology actually finds its way into consumers’ hands.

PCMag’s Chloe Albanesius reported, “Samsung said today that it has made a breakthrough in the development of ‘5G’ technology, which will ultimately be several hundred times faster than current 4G networks. But don’t expect to see a ‘5G’ icon atop your mobile gadget in the near future. This is just the beginning, and Samsung said it does not expect the commercialization of the technology until at least 2020.”

BBC News added, “The company says its equipment is capable of transmitting data at more than 1Gbps across a distance of up to 2km (1.2 miles). It suggests the tech would eventually allow users to stream ultra-high-definition video while on the move.”

However, Bloomberg BusinessWeek’s Sam Grobart cautioned, “Seven years is a lifetime in tech—taking nothing away from Samsung’s accomplishment, I’d be surprised if we didn’t see a few standards competing for our bandwidth by 2020.”

And GigaOm’s Kevin Fitchard commented, “From what few details Samsung has released about the tests, the feat sounds impressive, and its adaptive array transceiver technology could very well make it into the future networks we’ll one day call 5G. But for Samsung to call its technology 5G today is very disingenuous…. The fact is, 5G only exists as barest concept today.”