5G


 

Clint

TVWBB Olympian
I noticed the 5G icon on my phone for the first time last Thursday, seems to be everywhere today. I did a speed test last night & got 24.9 Mbps download, 5.3 Mbps upload....... 4g was ~3.x Mbps download, ~1.x Mbps up.
 
Who is your provider ?

I'm anxious to see how 5G will provide internet. It could be the competition for broadband cable, that's really needed.
 
Yep in some areas my phone(s) show 5Ge and even though people are out there saying AT&T is pulling the wool over my eyes I call BS on them. In a 5Ge area my phone becomes incredibly fast. Yes I know it's not "true" 5G but it is faster and better than 4G or LTE. T-Mobile is rolling out 5G as well
 
I think true 5G is going to involve buying a new phone. 5G is built to move video. If it performs as they claim, it will greatly facilitate cord cutting. But I'm not sure about any of this yet, I want to see it in operation.

Using a streaming service, I'm currently with Sling but probably not for long, my biggest expense for TV is my internet connection, and my provider , Cox Cable, still thinks they run a monopoly and act like it. They raise my rates every year and I really don't have another good option because I need their speed.

The way I understand 5G for TV will function, there will be a modem in the house to receive the signal, that connected to the current router.

T-Mobile is in turmoil right now, they need their merge with Sprint ( I do too, I'm a Sprint customer ) to fully rollout 5G in a manner to compete with ATT and Verizon. And the DOJ said this week, they have problems with the merger.
 
I don't think T-Mo is in the turmoil you think it is. Honestly I don't know why they'd even want to merge with Sprint. They're hemorrhaging $$$$ so badly it's amazing they even still exit at all.
That being said I find myself in the same issue with Comcast/Xfinity (they can't even figure out what to call themselves). Somehow they set up a way to actually protect themselves from any competition in the area I live in. AT&T cannot even sell me their services (other than wireless). So they have a true monopoly. I too am watching very carefully for T-Mo 5G home internet/TV service. Where we live we have very few TV channels whereas in an area say like Chicagoland they have hundreds of broadcast channels we have only a handful, not even a Public TV channel. The closest being in Madison WI and can only be picked up if the antenna gods allow for a signal to make it.
So I am watching very intently how this 5G/TV thing plays out with the wireless providers.
 
My post above should have said " I'm anxious to see 5G in reality, from people who actually have it, because there's a lot of misinformation and disinformation out there on 5G "

Well, as I said , T-Mobile needs Sprint to be large enough to compete with ATT and Verizon. They don't have the capital to roll out 5G on a scale of those two dominant carriers. And Sprint is probably headed to bankruptcy as they can't compete with the other three.

This a good deal for both T-Mob and Sprint. If it doesn't happen, this market dominated by two players.

Sprints future is probably bankruptcy, and then some other company will step in and buy the assets for a dime on the dollar, if this merger does not go through.

DOJ is concerned about a lack of competition, with the merger reducing the number of players to three. But the Catch 22, is if they don't merge, its only gonna be three players anyway. They're concerned about the consumer, but IMO, its needless.

T-Mobile CEO Legere was really happy getting this deal with Sprint, as Sprint was not open to any merger talks for a long time.

T-Mobile will survive without the merger, but will be a second class player to ATT and Verizon.

I saw some detail on T-Mobiles streaming service the other day, and I was not happy with it. If the story I read is correct, then T-Mob wants to charge $90 a month for their streaming. That's ridiculous, IF ... thats IF .... you also have to pay for an internet connection. There's a chance, that $90 a month would include 5G service, which would make it very reasonable.

From what I've seen so far, the going rate for 5G will be $50 a month. I'm paying $85 a month for broadband cable.

And the great thing about 5G internet, is there will be competition. In my area, broadband cable has never had any competitors, the other guys service was no where near the speed of cable. There will be at least three 5G providers to choose from.
 
My understanding is the T-Mo $90 offering is internet is inclusive so it will be an outstanding deal to people like myself being raped by big cable companies. Between basic cable TV and mid tier internet I am forking over close to $150 per month! And even with the royal screwing I am getting I don't even get a kiss or vaseline!
 
My understanding is the T-Mo $90 offering is internet is inclusive so it will be an outstanding deal to people like myself being raped by big cable companies. Between basic cable TV and mid tier internet I am forking over close to $150 per month! And even with the royal screwing I am getting I don't even get a kiss or vaseline!

I'm in the same boat. Comcast, or whatever they are called now is the only provider in my area for high speed internet. But Verizon is supposed to be getting 5g here soon. When that happens I'll be doing some price comparing. Supposedly the 5g is going to be much faster than the high speed Comcast is offering. I'm paying for 150Mbps but I never see it. It's not uncommon for me to get down into the 30 and even 20Mbps with them. Most people wouldn't notice the speed drop because even at 20Mbps you can do most things with no lag. So I bet most people that are paying for 150 and never see it don't even realize what they are actually getting. However I often download large things, and it takes much longer than it should for the tier l pay for. I keep an eye on the speeds during the download. I have called Comcast and they just blame it on congestion. Say things like, It's UP TO 150 but depends on area use. Or blame my equipment, that is better equipment than what they rent. I bought my own because I was tired of seeing rental fees (among all the other fees) on my bill. My modem has already paid for itself a couple times. Another thing they do if you are having a problem and don't rent their stuff is offer very little help when things aren't working. I've called about internet going out and they say its hard for them to troubleshoot because I don't use their stuff. Tell me it may not be them. And are still knuckle headed about it when I tell them my neighbors who use their stuff are also down. That usually leads to a "OK let me check, yes we do see a problem in your area". They claim to be the most reliable, yet I often have outages.

I'm looking foreword to them getting competition. At least if they don't have a monopoly they will step up their game, or I can use someone else.
Alright, I'll stop ranting.
 
I'm 14 miles from our " antenna farm " , where all the local stations broadcast. But I still use an outdoor antenna hung in the attic. They all don't broadcast in UHF. We still have a couple, including the local PBS station, that uses VHF. And indoor antennas, no matter how well amplified, will have trouble with VHF.

I hear that I really don't need broadband cable to stream. But I don't think I wanna take a chance on some other ISP. I could maybe save some money, but I could also buy a lot of problems.

My biggest problem to changing ISP, will be losing my email address that I've had for around 20 years. I was starting to make the transition to Google GMail, but lately I've become wary of just how much Google is involved in my life. Its like they know all about me, and while I've got nothing to hide, I just don't trust Google to use their power with ethics. The EU is fining them constantly in Europe for abuse of their power.

If I go YouTube TV, then I watch a lot of YT, and I use Google search, then add Gmail ........... I gotta break that up, I feel.
 
I was under the impression when the gummint "fixed" broadcast TV there were no more VHF signals in use that everything regardless of wht the channel designator was it was switched to UHF frequencies. Back before TV was "fixed" I could rotate my antenna and I could receive signals from as far away as Terre Haute IN (keep in mind I am in the far norther center of IL), I could receive MKE WI, MAD WI, Dubuque IA, Chicago, and so on. Now I have a hard time with local channels!
 
They keep telling us that it's coming to Charlotte.
I'll believe it when I see it on my phone.
Although, now that I think about it, I'm due for a new phone. I'll try to remember to ask about it when I go to Verizon next week.
 

 

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