5G Launched
Let's talk about whether 5G Launched or not? Vodafone begins to offer this Saturday the new technology in 15 cities in Spain. Madrid is one of the 15 Spanish cities chosen by Vodafone to launch this Saturday its first commercial ultrafast connection service, the 5G . Between tourists photographing themselves next to the statue of the bear and the madroño and people disguised as Mario Bros, Chucky or Bart Simpson trying to get their attention, EL PAÍS has seen in Puerta del Sol what possibilities open up with this new technology. The tests have been made with the Xiaomi Mi MIX 3 5G and the LG V50 ThinQ5G. These terminals are, along with the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, the three smartphones compatible with the new network of the operator. Read about Notre Dame Fire here.
In the upper right part of the screen of these phones it is indicated that they are connected to the 5G network. The connections are 10 times faster than the current 4G, but in the future speeds will be reached 250 times higher. When doing a speed test with both networks, the difference is remarkable. When Xiaomi smartphone connects to 5G, it reaches 840 megabits per second. By forcing the phone to connect to the 4G network, it only reaches 90 megabits per second. This difference is especially noticeable when downloading large files. For example, movies from platforms such as Netflix or Amazon Prime Video. To verify this, the Asterix film in America has been chosen in this last platform and has been downloaded in two phones at the same time -one with 4G and another with 5G-. The smartphone connected to the 5G only takes between 8 and 10 seconds. Just when it finishes, the download in the other terminal only goes by 7%. Finally, it takes more than two minutes.
However, the difference is insignificant when viewing the contents in streamingon the same platforms. This is due, according to both experts, to the companies already have very efficient systems to give a good experience to the user with 4G and avoid stopping the video. Neither is seen on Twitch, the platform of streaming par excellence for gamers. This newspaper has opened in two telephones connected to the 4G and 5G networks the retransmission of a game of Fortnite. In both devices you can see synchronized how a woman runs and builds wooden structures with an ax. On YouTube, when viewing a video with 8K quality in which landscapes and customs of Bulgaria are shown, charging is practically immediate, although only slightly faster than that of a mobile connected to a 4G network.
The download of applications, in general, is also very fast. It only takes between one and three seconds to download from the Play Store apps like Office, LinkedIn or Waze. Updating applications like Instagram or Facebook is practically immediate. When making a video call with WhatsApp, the image looks slightly pixelated. Juan de Miguel, responsible for Vodafone network optimization, points out that this has nothing to do with the 5G network, but with the companies adapting the apps to the users: "It is the application itself that has to be adapted to the [download] ratios. From now on, they will have to make the appropriate adaptations so that if you have 5G, you get the video ratio that you can best handle. " Although the new network allows downloads at a dizzying speed, the difference is not so abysmal when it comes to uploading files to the cloud. For example, to platforms such as Google Drive. De Miguel argues that you will never have a higher upload speed than you have with the 4G network, but using one network or another does not really make a difference. In addition, the applications themselves also limit the sending of large files in some cases. Gmail, say, does not allow sending a file larger than 25 megabytes.
The speed of 5G connections varies in different places. While in the middle of Puerta del Sol over 800 megabits per second is exceeded, when entering the Vodafone store, uploading a plant and doing the same test reaches approximately 500. The band deployed by Vodafone has less penetration indoors. The 5G is compatible with the 4G, so the terminal automatically switches from one technology to another, appearing the symbol of one or the other in the upper right corner of the screen. In some points, both in Puerta del Sol and in the store, the connection changes to 4G. In addition, these first launches are made with the Non Stand Alone standard , which uses part of the 4G infrastructure combined with new 5G antennas. As of 2021 it will be when the new generation begins to operate at full capacity, and until 2025 it will be operational in the largest populations.
Improvement in video games (5G Launched)
With 5G launched, the latency or response time will be reduced up to five milliseconds, which will allow a noticeable improvement in online video games . Latency is the time it takes for a device to execute an order since the signal is sent to it. The lower, the faster the reaction of the device that we operate from a distance.
For users of video games it is essential to have a good connection when participating in live tournaments and to chat among them simultaneously. Above all, taking into account that in titles such as Clash Royale, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds or Brawl Stars every second can be decisive. "With a network with a very high latency, someone may shoot you and you will not find out until five seconds later," says Joaquín López Benavente, optimization engineer.
This newspaper has tested the car game Hunting the horizon . The response time in this case has been immediate. However, the experience has also been positive when playing in connection with the 4G network. Sometimes it gives the feeling that the game takes a little time to load, but it is barely noticeable. "Today's games should work well with 4G. But tomorrow someone will invent a game for which 5G will be needed because the latency requirements will be more demanding, "says De Miguel.
Hunting the horizon is a game of Hatch, a Finnish cloud games platform for 5G networks with which Vodafone has signed an exclusive agreement. This alliance will allow users to play instantly, without downloads or announcements that interrupt the game. The Hatch catalog currently includes more than 160 games on the mobile. Among the featured titles available in the premium version are Space Invaders, Sonic The Hedgehog, Monument Valley, Hitman GO or Angry Birds.
The impact that 5G promises in video games and the high download speed have already attracted the attention of some users. There are customers who have approached the Vodafone store in Puerta del Sol in the last week to ask about the models compatible with the 5G network, according to their workers. In the coming weeks, the company plans to carry out demonstrations in this store showing what benefits are opened with this new technology.
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