So, I've been hearing some acquaintances talking about the 5G rollout. Apparently in the midst of everything COVID-19, there's some 5G something or other going on. I completely missed whatever this is about.
I know there's a whole thing about 5G being dangerous (seems as though everyone's touting the Millimeter Wave causing harmful things to the body). My understanding is this:
Low Band (T-Mobile): 600Mhz band. Nothing new. UHF TV was here at millions of watts of power. Given the low frequency, power output doesn't need to be anywhere near CDMA band to achieve the same distance.
Mid Band; 2.3Ghz. WiMax (4G) is already here. Nothing new. We have CDMA at 1.9Ghz, and WiFi at 2.4.
High Band: 23Ghz, 38Ghz, I think 43Ghz as well. I must be misunderstanding something. Compare this to 5Ghz WiFi. Higher throughput due to higher frequency and available frequency bandwidth, but VERY line-of-sight and very limited on distance. I've worked with Ubiquity data radios that operate in 23Ghz. You have to be SPOT ON in lining up those dishes. Seems to me that the amount of RF power required by the phone to talk back to a tower on high band would be insane, thus draining the crap out of a phone battery.
As far as frequencies being "dangerous to humans"; I was always under the impression that a longer wave (AM, SW) has much more effect than higher frequencies.
Looking for clarification on this - just to set my curiosity and knowledge straight.
5G Stuff
Re: 5G Stuff
On "high band" gigaertz, there has to be an antenna site on every other street corner, in cities, to pick up handheld phones.